


Not a Walk in the Park

by BCharmer



Category: Gossip Girl
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-06
Updated: 2016-06-06
Packaged: 2018-07-12 13:31:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 21,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7106947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BCharmer/pseuds/BCharmer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if the last scene of Poison Ivy (1x3) included one more confession?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Not a Walk in the Park

**Author's Note:**

> This story was originally published on my Live Journal account in 2008.

“I’m so sorry for what I did. I didn’t know how to be your friend…I was ashamed. Ashamed about Nate, about why I had to leave you...”  
  
“It’s not like you haven’t gotten drunk and slept with a cute boy before.” Blair’s lips curled into a small smile, that didn’t quite reach her eyes. She hoped it was enough to take the sting out of her words. “Maybe if I had gotten drunk, let myself go with Nate…”  
  
An image, unbidden swam into focus. Serena felt a knot settle in the pit of her stomach. Her voice was pained when she spoke, “Blair, don’t.”  
  
Blair reached out and stilled Serena’s hand that was curled into a loose fist circling just above her heart. “I want my best friend back and I want to forgive you.” She dropped her hands to her side. “But I don’t know if I can. How am I supposed to forgive and forget when I don’t understand why…how do I know you won’t disappear on me again?”  
  
“I won’t. I swear. I know it’s difficult to have faith in me right now…”  
  
“Jesus, Serena. What aren’t you willing to tell me?” Blair paled and looked at her with wide eyes, too many unfavorable scenarios screamed through her mind.  
  
“Right now there’s an olive branch between us, an uneasy truce. If I continue, if I lay it all out, then I don’t know if our friendship survives.”  
  
“I don’t know if our friendship survives if you can’t tell me the unfettered truth,” Blair’s tone was resigned but not threatening.  
  
“You don’t know what you’re asking of me, Blair.”  
  
Blair studied her friend and finally noticed the slouch of her shoulders, the circles under her eyes, and the slight tremor in her hands. Only Serena could wear exhaustion like a fashion and still be so beautiful. “You know…it’s been a long day, between the recruiters and this attempt to build a bridge. We can do this some other time.”  
  
Serena felt Blair’s emotional withdraw more acutely than the physical. A gesture borne out of years of habit, she ran her fingertips down Blair’s arm and captured her wrist.  
  
“No,” Serena couldn’t stop her words from coming out in a desperate rush. “I may never have the nerve again. Will you sit with me?” At Blair’s tentative nod, Serena laced their fingers together and drew the brunette to the bench.  
  
“I can’t stand the thought that I may have, hell I may still be throwing away our friendship.” The wind carried Serena’s heavy sigh away, blanketing the young women in a silence broken only by the late afternoon drizzle.  
  
“Serena?”  
  
“Earlier that night, I saw you and Nate through the sheer curtain in front of your booth. I watched you kissing. Jesus I thought you were going to make love right there.” Serena swallowed hard at the memory. Though months had passed, it had not faded. Blair straddling Nate, moving rhythmically against her boyfriend.  
  
Blair tried to slip her hand out of Serena’s, but her fingertips were recaptured by gentle hands. “Blair, it was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen, she whispered the confession.  
  
An icy mask dropped over Blair’s features as she extricated her hand and stood. “When you’re feeling guilty you’re supposed to say what the injured party needs to hear, not what you need to say to assuage your own guilt.” She grabbed her bag and walked out into the rain.  
  
“Blair! Wait!” Serena only watched her friend’s retreating back for a second before she picked up her book and quickly followed. The wind caught her hat as she stepped out from under the protection of the structure and swept it away.  
  
“Damnit. Blair, stop. Please! ” Serena slowed her steps as Blair pulled up short and quickly turned on her heel. She couldn’t tell if the moisture on Blair’s cheeks were from the rain or tears. “B…please just listen to me.”  
  
“No, Serena. I don’t want the details of how watching Nate turned you on so much you had to sleep with him.” Blair impatiently wiped the tears from her eyes.  
  
Serena took a tentative step closer. “No. That’s not what I’m saying.” She caught Blair’s wrist and tucked her hand to her chest. “Nate wasn’t the person that turned me on.”  
  
She released her friend but stayed within touching distance as watched the first vestiges of comprehension flicker across her features. Blair staggered back.  
  
“Blair.” Serena spoke her name like a prayer. “It was you…it’s always been you…” She reached out and wiped a dark, wet strand of hair from her face.  
  
“I don’t,” Blair’s normally controlled voice broke. “What you’re saying doesn’t...”  
  
Serena turned her face skyward, wishing the rain could wash away her fear. Her voice shook, “I was so drunk and turned on. I went to the bar and found another bottle of champagne. All I could think of, all I could see was you and it scared me to death. I went in there to drink, to numb what I was feeling for my best friend.”  
  
It was the last thing Blair expected to hear.  
  
“Then suddenly Nate’s there and I’m falling off the bar. He caught me and you flooded my senses.” Serena caressed Blair’s cheek until her friend met her gaze. “Your scent was in his hair, on his clothes… with every breath, I took you in and it was so easy to close my eyes and just pretend.”  
  
“S.” The old endearment slipped out. Blair felt like as though she was paralyzed when Serena’s eyes darkened and her gaze fell upon Blair’s mouth. The look on Serena’s face burned her, enough to pull her out of her stupor.  
  
She took a shaky step back as she tried desperately to rein in her emotions and slip the quintessential, unaffected Waldorf mask back into place. And failed.  
  
“Serena, you know I love you but I’ve just never thought about you as a…a suitor.”  
  
Serena couldn’t suppress a small crooked grin at Blair’s old-fashioned choice of words.  
  
Serena van der Woodsen reached out and framed Blair Waldorf’s face in her hands. “I won’t lie to you ever again, Blair. If this is too out there for you and all we will ever be is friends, then I’ll find a way to accept it. But today, right now in this moment, I really hope that someday you’ll be able to think of me as a suitor. And a lover.”  
  
And then with the agonizing slowness of the old romantic movies Blair was so fond of, Serena bestowed an obscenely romantic kiss on her best friend in the rain in Central Park. When she pulled back a slightly stunned and thoroughly kissed Blair looked up at Serena with what could only be longing.  
  
That look made her want to crush her mouth to Blair’s. Through sheer force of will Serena forced herself out of kissing and touching range.  
  
“Are you okay? Are we going to be okay?”  
  
Blair could only nod.  
  
“Okay, then. I don’t want you to say anything right now. I just want to look at you as I walk away. I’ll call you tomorrow.” Serena walked backward, giving herself just a few seconds more to memorize the look on Blair’s face. “Love you, B.”  
  
That declaration earned her a genuine smile and she held that memory inside her heart as she turned and walked away.

 

************************

 

_Hello, Upper Eastsiders. Gossip Girl here. Spotted, a rain soaked Blair Waldorf absently wandering the streets of Manhattan. What has the Queen B acting so out of character? Could it be that the reappearance of a certain blonde has shaken her more than she realizes?_

__xoxo_ _

__Gossip Girl_ _

 

Blair was annoyed and she didn’t know which upset her more, her complete inability to think of anything other than Serena’s kiss or the feeling of restlessness that threatened to overwhelm her.

She touched her lips again and wondered how a kiss could linger for so long?

A passing stranger might have thought the young woman was ill as she pressed her back against the building for support. Her legs threatened to give out as very tactile memories flooded her senses. Blair tried to close her eyes against the onslaught but only succeeded in making the memory of their kiss that much clearer.

Her face was in Serena’s hands and she trembled at the first soft brush of Serena’s lips against hers. The blonde’s mouth was soft and undemanding as she caressed one of Blair’s lips, then the other and back again and again until Blair gave into the bone deep need to return the kiss. She couldn’t hold back a whimper as their mouths met fully. She felt herself beginning to lean into Serena’s body at the same moment Serena gently nipped at her lower lip then soothed the spot with a gentle swipe of her tongue.

Blair took an unsteady breath. She and Serena had kissed a couple of times over the years, but each time was a result of a juvenile game of truth or dare. No previous kiss had emotion behind it. No other kiss left her feeling wanted. Or loved.

She pushed a wet strand of hair out of her eyes and began walking. Thoughts and questions tumbled one on top of another as she tried to adjust to the new reality of being loved by Serena van der Woodsen.

Had Serena ever looked at her like that before? She didn’t think she would have forgotten that particular expression on Serena’s face. It was a vulnerable mix of hope and fear, and strong dose of desire.

“She’s in love with me.” No. She shook her head and replayed every word could recall. Serena had said she was turned on, that she loved Blair. Not that she was inlove with her.

Didn’t that make her like all the boys that found Blair attractive? Did she just want something she couldn’t have?

Blair stopped pacing. How had she said it exactly? “…I really hope that someday you’ll be able to think of me as a suitor. And a lover.” Serena’s words held the promise of a caress that shook her to her core. Definitely not like the boys.

The irony of the situation brought tears of frustration. The one person she really wanted and needed to talk to was the source of her confusion. So Blair wasn’t surprised when she finally pulled herself out of her thoughts and into the present, that she was standing in front of the Palace Hotel.

In her distraction she didn’t immediately notice Eric and Lily exiting the hotel.Serena’s mother directed a cold stare toward Blair as she ducked into the waiting limo.

“Eric?” Blair called as she approached the slight young man.

“Blair.” He greeted her politely, if not warmly. “Seems you and my sister have made amends.”

A moment of panic gripped her chest. Serena and Eric were closer than most siblings and Serena had a tendency to over share. Blair forced herself to keep her voice neutral, “She’s spoken with you?”

“No. Not really.” Serena had come home soaked to the bone and a dreamy look on her face. “She just seemed really happy, like a weight’s been lifted.”

“Is she still home?”

“Yes. We’re in the suite on the 54th floor. East Tower.” Eric hesitated outside the limo door. “Blair, she hasn’t stopped smiling since she got home a couple of hours ago. And I want to see that smile firmly in place when she comes to visit me at theOstroff Center later tonight.”

Blair was touched by Eric obvious concern for his sister. “It will be.”

He pulled a card out of his wallet and handed it to her. “This is the security code for the elevator. Serena insisted it be changed when she returned.”

Blair accepted the proffered card. 1130. It was Blair’s birth date.

“Thank you, Eric.” With a small nod, she turned and walked into the hotel.

Blair could admit to herself that she was terrified, but she was no coward. As much as she might have wanted to, she wouldn’t run away from this. Her resolve renewed, she stepped into the elevator and entered the security code for the van der Woodsen suite.

She pulled a compact out of her purse and was shocked by her own expression.Anticipation was written all over her face. She snapped the compact shut and spoke aloud. “I am Blair Waldorf. I’m simply dropping by my best friend’s place to talk. I’m in control.”

PING! The elevator doors opened and Blair came face to face with Serena. And control fled along with her voice.

“Blair. Eric just texted that you were on your way up.” Serena smiled and stopped herself just shy of touching her companion. She tried to catch her gaze, but Blair’s eyes were laser focused on her mouth. “I didn’t expect to see you again tonight.”

When Blair still couldn’t meet her eyes, Serena risked taking a step closer and reached for her hand. “B, are you okay?” She felt the smaller fingers lace through her own and squeeze.

The brunette shook her head. “I thought I was…”

Serena had to move even closer to hear her next words. “I can’t stop thinking about you kissing me.”

Her heart beating wildly in her chest, Serena spoke softly. “I’d apologize, but it would be a lie. I’ve wanted to kiss you for so long, Blair. And I want to kiss you again, but I promise, I won’t do it again unless you ask me to.”

Blair stepped into Serena’s personal space. “I think you can safely assume that this is me asking.”

 

************************

 

Blair stepped into Serena’s personal space.  “I think you can safely assume that this is me asking.”  She pushed a lock of blonde hair aside before caressing Serena’s cheek with a trembling hand.

“B, are you sure?”  Serena turned her head and pressed her lips against Blair’s palm.  “I need you to be sure.”  They were so close she couldn’t see Blair’s eyes flutter shut at the sensual contact.

Blair only needed to turn her face a fraction to the right to brush her lips slowly against Serena’s.   “I am.”  She leaned in for another kiss.  Then another.  Soft, gentle, unhurried.  They breathed each other in with each pass of their lips.

Blair opened eyes when she felt the shape of Serena’s mouth change.  “You’re smiling.”  She was surprised to find green eyes swimming in tears looking back.  “S, what are these about?”  

The blonde laughed at the irony and dashed at the falling tears with her knuckles. “I’m just so damn happy.”  She reached for both of Blair’s hands and brought them to her lips.  A hint of perfume from Blair’s wrists settled into her senses.  Her voice was heavy with emotion, “You are so beautiful, Blair.”

“No, I…”  Her words were cut off by Serena’s kiss.

“Shh.”  Serena couldn’t stop touching her face, brushing her fingertips over Blair’s cheeks, her eye brows and threading through thick brown locks.  “You’re stunning.” She held Blair’s gaze, not wavering until brown eyes slid shut and her lips were captured.

Their lips met over and again, tasting and memorizing.  Serena was nearly overcome by the hot wet silk that was Blair’s mouth opening to hers. 

Only the need for air made Serena pull back just far enough to fill her lungs.  “It’s so good, B.  Kissing you feels so good.”

“It does…don’t stop.” Blair didn’t give her a choice as she wrapped her arms around Serena’s neck and pulled her face back down into another crushing kiss.

Her hands slid up Blair’s back and she reveled in the soft strength she felt there. She could feel the subtle shift of muscle as Blair moved in her arms.

Blair was lost in the sensation of soft full lips closing over her own and the gentle touch of Serena’s hands along her back.  A sound somewhere between a moan and sigh escaped when she felt the first touch of Serena’s tongue against her own.

Touch and retreat.  Touch and retreat.  Then Serena was filling her mouth and Blair closed the last bit of distance between their bodies.  It was Serena’s turn to stifle a moan as she became aware of the full body contact.  The feel of Blair's body against her own unleashed something primal in Serena. She pulled away from Blair’s lips and tilted the brunette’s head just enough to expose her throat.  As she left a trail of burning kisses down her neck; Blair’s her hands were pulling them closer together. Sensory.  Overload.

“Serena,” Blair’s breath came out in a ragged gasp.   

Serena thought she heard a hint of fear in Blair’s voice and stopped.  She pressed her forehead against Blair’s.  “I’m sorry.”  She tried to slow her breathing.  “I’m sorry, B.”  Her eyes were closed and she inhaled deeply.  “I told myself to go slow….you just feel so good.”  She tried to take a step back and found herself held firmly in place.

She had always been protective of Blair, but the sight of Serena visibly tamping down her desire was the sweetest thing Blair Waldorf had ever seen.  “S, I’m okay. Look at me.”

Blair’s skin was flushed and her lips swollen.  Serena swallowed hard against the sight.  Her best friend was sexy as hell. 

“You didn’t do anything wrong.”  She smiled shyly, “My legs started feeling weak.  I just need to sit down.”

Serena released a breath she did know she had been holding, took Blair’s hand and led her to her bedroom.  The energy flowing between them shifted a bit as Serena closed the door. 

She watched as Blair walked around her room picking up knickknacks and generally taking in her current living space.

“This is nice.”  She kicked her shoes off and sat down then scooted up towards the headboard.  At Serena’s shrug, she persisted.  “It’s your room, your stuff is in it and you’re here, therefore it’s nice.”  She extended her hand, “Come here.”

Serena laced their fingers together and stretched out on the bed.  She carefully kept a little physical distance between their bodies, but stayed connected to Blair through their joined hands. 

She felt Blair’s steady gaze and turned to face her.  “This morning, I couldn’t have imagined today was going to end the way it has.”

Blair’s smile disappeared as she remembered her earlier intent to destroy Serena life.

Watching the emotions play across her face, Serena interrupted the unpleasant trip down recent memory lane with a soft kiss.  “No, no, no.  Please don’t think about this morning.”  She kissed her once again quickly and wiggled her eyebrows.  “Think about what came after.” 

That earned her a swat on the shoulder.  “It’s all I’ve been thinking about.”

“Me, too.”  Serena stroked Blair’s jaw line insistently.

“Everything is going to be different now.”  She leaned into Serena’s touch.  Her brain warred with her body.  “We should probably talk about it.” She managed to murmur between the lazy kisses Serena was bestowing.

“I know.”  She pulled Blair down until she was draping Serena’s body.  “Later.”

 

 

“S.”  Blair kissed near Serena’s ear.  “Serena, wake up.”

Serena nestled deeper into the cocoon of Blair’s neck before the words penetrated her brain.  _“Wake up.”_

She startled Blair when she literally sprang up and out of the bed.  “I fell asleep on you?  Oh my God.”  Serena had never felt so inadequate.

Blair clamped her hands over her mouth to keep a laugh from escaping.

“B, I’m sorry.  God, I’m the worst girlfriend in the world.”  At Blair’s arched eyebrow she tried again, “I mean, uh…ah hell.”

At that Blair let loose the chortle she had been holding back.  “Two things.  First, you dozed off when I asked you to close your eyes and I started to stroke your face.  I’ll take that as a compliment.  And second,” she paused dramatically and watched Serena squirm, “you are adorable when you’re flustered.”

Serena was saved from responding by an incoming call on her cell phone.  She glanced at it and then at her watch.

“Blair.  It’s the car to take me to the Ostroff Center.”  The disappointment in her voice was echoed in Blair expression.  “I’ll call Eric and reschedule.  He’ll understand that we need time to catch up.”

“No.”  Blair sat on the edge of the bed and pulled her shoes on.  “I may be selfish about a lot of things, but you spending time with your brother is not one of them.” The tone of her voice left no room for argument.  She stood and straightened her clothes.

Serena reached for her hand.  “Let me walk you home?”

“You’ll be late to meet Eric.”  She moved into Serena’s arms.

“Ride with me and I’ll have the driver drop you at your place after.”  She pulled Blair tighter and melted into her kiss.

Blair was the first to pull back, “That’s okay.  Call me when you get back?”

“Yes.”  She picked up her jacket and held Blair’s hand as they walked to elevator. She slipped in on and felt the small square shape in her pocket.

She pulled it out and handed it to Blair.  “I’d planned to give you this tomorrow, but ….” 

Blair didn’t know until she got home that night, safely ensconced in her room that the card simply read “B – I know you need time for this to sink in.  I won’t rush you.  Love, S”.

Serena van der Woodsen was absolutely suitor material.

 

************************

 

Sunday morning…

 

Serena’s plan had been to head over to Blair’s and sweep her away for an early brunch and a day of shopping. Unfortunately, Murphy’s Law and Blair’s mother, Eleanor had other plans when she returned home from Europe unexpectedly and demanded Blair spend the day with her. Serena’s cell phone was filled with frustrated text messages indicating just how unwelcome Eleanor’s return was to her daughter.

Serena found herself fighting an almost impossible urge to storm the Waldorf gates and abscond with Blair. Lily had looked at her with peculiar concern when an especially boisterous laugh escaped as she imagined herself as a white knight riding to Blair’s rescue.

With Blair unavailable Serena bit the bullet and spent part of the day with Dan and let him know they could be friends, but only friends. He had been disappointed, but he was a good guy and let her off the hook without drama or a lot of questions.They parted ways at the coffee shop he was so fond of. When she realized that there was a plenty of light left in her suddenly free day, she hailed a cab.

***********************

“Serena?” Eric snapped his chopsticks open and closed in rapid succession directly in his sister’s line of sight. “Earth to Serena…”

Her head snapped around and she found herself struggling to focus on her brother’s face. “Wh…”

“Where are you? You keep fading out on me. Is everything okay?”

“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be so distracted.” Her eyes slid away from him. “I’ve got a test tomorrow and pre-calculus is breaking my brain.”

He speared a plump tiger prawn and looked at her skeptically. “I won’t break.” At her confused look, he continued, “You can talk to me; I’m not so weak or messed up that I can’t be here for you.”

“Eric. No, I’ve never thought you were weak.” He looked unconvinced.

She reached across the table and picked up a container of chow mien. “Do you want some of this?”

“No thanks,” he managed around a mouthful of sweet and sour chicken, “and don’t think I can’t see you trying to distract me.”

She smiled at his perceptiveness. “You’re right.” She turned to more fully face him.“It stays between us?”

“You know it does.” He answered with absolute sincerity.

Serena leaned toward her brother and grinned when he mirrored her actions. “It’s Blair.”

“Damnit. What has she done now?” He spun away from Serena and began pacing the small confines of “his” room. “I warned her before she went up last night that she better not upset you.”

Serena smiled fondly at her brother’s natural tendency to protect her. “Eric.”

He turned towards her and pointed a finger at her chest. “No, I swear, Serena if she’s done something else to hurt you or to try to mess up your life.”

“Eric!” She tried to catch his eye, but he was too distracted.

“You know,” he said warming up to the idea swirling in his brain, “she’s not the only one that can be a bad…”

“We kissed.” She barely refrained from shouting.

“Ass…wait.” He stopped pacing and faced his sibling, “What did you say?”

“I said, we kissed.”

“Blair? You…and Blair?” He sat down. “Did a dare get out of hand?” He looked slightly bewildered.

“Yes. Yes.” The pink on her skin deepened. “And no. I didn’t kiss her on a dare.”

“Blair Waldorf? Five-four, brown hair, brown eyes – your best friend since forever?That Blair?”

“Yes. The one and only.” She tried for nonchalance and failed miserably. Serena met the expectant eyes of her brother and then reached across the small table and grasped his hand. “Eric, you can’t say anything.”

“No, I wouldn’t.” He squeezed her hand in an effort to be reassuring. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. I’ve been able to gauge your interactions with her based solely on your moods since you’ve been back.” He pushed the carton he had been eating from away.

Eric studied his sister as she stood abruptly. The nervous energy radiating from her slender frame was palpable. “You said you kissed. Can I assume she kissed you back?” He was unable to resist adding at the blush rising on her skin. “Wow, must have been a hell of a kiss.”

“Yeah, it was.” She ducked her head and long blonde hair partially obscured her features.

“Okay, you need to start at the beginning.” He pinned her with a look that only a younger brother could muster.

Serena leaned back against his dresser and told him about the events of the very recent past. She avoided details that would have squicked him out. She didn’t share how right Blair’s mouth felt against hers or how her guts had clenched when Blair’s upper body had draped over hers in her bed.

And even though she knew it would give him limitless ammunition for future teasing, she did tell him about falling asleep on Blair.

He smirked at her, “Very impressive, sis. Well, except for last part.” He ducked a flying chopstick. He sobered and asked gently, “Are you in love with her?”

Serena replied in a near whisper, fearful of tempting fate by voicing her feelings, “I’m crazy about her, Eric.”

“She feels the same?”

She chewed nervously at her bottom lip. “I don’t know. It’s so new. I was kissing her less than twenty-four hours ago and now that I’m not with her…” She blew out a frustrated breath. “I’m scared she’s going to get spooked and, ” she couldn’t finish the thought around the lump in her throat.

“And break your heart.”

She felt tears sting her eyes. “Yeah.”

Eric crossed the room and pulled Serena into a hug. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

She squeezed him back. “S’okay. I was thinking it whether you said it or not.”

He released her and took a step back. “Go see her.”

“I told you, Eleanor came home last night and she’s stuck there.”

“So,” he smiled mischievously, “if you can’t bust her out, break in.”

 

 ************************  

 

Sunday evening…  
  
Serena checked the time on her cell for the fifth time in the past hour. She knew from Blair’s text messages that she and Eleanor should be finished with dinner and would be retired to the living room for post dinner coffee.  
  
She hoped her timing was right as she stepped onto the elevator to the Waldorf penthouse apartment. She wasn’t surprised to be greeted by Dorota as the doors opened.  
  
“Miss van der Woodsen, good evening.” The maid took Serena’s jacket and beckoned her to follow. “Miss Blair and Mrs. Waldorf are in the living room. Would you like an espresso or a cup of coffee?”  
  
Serena declined and remained a step behind Dorota, eyes to the floor until she was announced. She instinctively glanced to her left and saw Blair reclining on the chaise. She had to remind herself to breathe. Blair’s hair was up with a few tendrils framing her face. Serena thought she looked stunning.   
  
She found she had to drag her eyes away from the lovely vision and toward the approaching Eleanor.  
  
“Why, Serena. What a nice surprise.” She glanced back at her daughter who was slowly getting to her feet. “Blair didn’t mention you would be stopping by.”  
  
Serena stepped forward and hugged Blair’s mother. “It’s good to see you again.” Her gaze returned to a mute Blair. “I apologize for dropping by unexpectedly and interrupting. We have a chem test tomorrow and I need to borrow Blair’s lab notes so I don’t fail.”  
  
Blair arched an eyebrow at the blatant and easily told lie. Her eyes never left Serena’s face but her expression was carefully neutral.  
  
Eleanor took Serena by the elbow and turned towards the seating area. “Blair go retrieve your notes and Serena and I will catch up.” She missed the frustrated expression that momentarily marred the blonde’s features.  
  
She squeezed Eleanor’s hand before carefully disengaging from the older woman. “No, I’m already interrupting your first evening home. Let me just run upstairs with Blair, get the notes and I’ll be on my way.” Serena edged away as quickly as was polite and joined her best friend on the stairs.  
  
Blair spoke for the first time since Serena arrived. “I had forgotten how quickly and easily you can weave a lie.” She paused at the top of the stairs and looked down at the blonde before continuing down the hall to her room. “As long as you don’t lie to me, I can consider it one of your charms.”  
  
Serena stepped inside as Blair held the door open for her. “B, I told you yesterday. I’ll never lie to you again.” She turned after she heard the door shut.  
  
Blair was looking at her oddly and Serena rushed to fill what felt like an uneasy silence. “And I’m sorry I dropped by without giving you a heads-up. I just…I needed to see you, Blair.”  
  
“I figured that out when you told my mother that we have a test in a class we took last year.” Blair’s tone was controlled, too controlled.  
  
Serena felt her world start a slow tilt. She feared the Blair sitting on the edge of the bed was not the Blair she had kissed the previous day. She tried to find her voice, “Are you upset with me?”  
  
Blair heard the hesitant hurt in Serena’s voice and shook her head. “No, S, you haven’t done anything wrong.” She looked up at her friend and smiled sadly. “Spending today with my mother was not high on the list of things I wanted to do. I am really glad to see you, too.”  
  
“Yeah?”  
  
“I just need a minute to recalibrate.”  
  
Serena took the three steps needed to reach the bed and knelt in front of her friend. She took Blair’s hands into her own and squeezed. “Anything I can do to help?”  
  
Blair closed her eyes and absorbed the heat from Serena’s touch on her skin. “You’re doing it.”  
  
Serena continued to caress Blair’s hands. She took advantage of the closed brown eyes to study Blair’s face. Her pale skin was flawless and Serena ached to stroke it with her fingertips. She corralled the impulse and squeezed Blair’s hands a bit tighter.  
  
“S…”  
  
Blair opened her eyes and Serena fell into pools of brown. Serena saw the unshed tears, surged up and wrapped her arms around Blair’s waist to pull her close. “I’ve got you.”  
  
In the safest place she knew, Blair finally let the tears fall. She cried for the joy she felt in Serena’s loving embrace and for the pain caused by a mother’s well intentioned, yet poorly executed love.  
  
Serena held fast, her hands moving in a soothing pattern on Blair’s back. Blair found the anchor she needed in Serena’s touch and gentle approval to push down the devastating feeling of inadequacy only Eleanor’s presence could generate.  
  
Blair’s realized her hands were balled up in Serena’s shirt and released the material. “I hate how easily she gets to me.” She wiped the tears from her cheeks and stepped sideways out of Serena’s loose hold.  
  
She sat in down at her dressing table and took a shaky breath. “I’m a mess.” The reflection in the mirror tear-streaked and red-eyed. Serena’s heart constricted at the self-loathing she heard in Blair’s voice.  
  
She bit her tongue. She wanted to tell Blair that she was wrong, that she was beautiful but she knew somewhere deep inside that wasn’t what her friend needed to hear, no matter how badly Serena wanted to say it over and over again until Blair believed it.  
  
Instead she pulled a tissue from the box so she could gently wipe away the mascara at the corner of her eyes. Her actions tender compared to words she spoke into the silence.  
  
“Your mother needs a reality check. If I thought it would help, I’d gladly be the one to give it to her.” Serena walked into the adjoining bathroom and ran a wash cloth under cold water. She took a deep breath before she launched into a full-scale verbal assault of Eleanor’s parenting skills.  
  
She returned and placed the cloth over Blair’s eyes hoping the coldness would relieve the puffiness. “Here, you’ll be as good as new.”  
  
Blair pressed the cold material firmly against her eyes. “Thanks. I’m glad you’re here even though rescuing me wasn’t why you came over.” She pulled the wash cloth from her eyes when she heard Serena bite off a laugh.  
  
Serena knelt next to her. “Actually, I had visions of doing just that this morning. Me and my trusty steed.” She watched as a grin tugged at the corners of Blair’s mouth.   
  
“I missed you today, S.” Blair threaded her hand into the blonde mane and closed her eyes. Serena leaned into the touch, content to follow Blair’s lead as her confidence returned.  
  
Strong fingers sifted through her locks and massaged her scalp. “I missed you, too.” Her whisper the only sound other than their breathing that broke the silence in the room.  
  
Serena felt Blair’s fingers slide from her scalp down to her jaw line where her thumb began a lazy stroke against Serena’s cheek. Her breath hitched at the intimacy of the touch. With a single caress, Blair Waldorf turned Serena van der Woodsen from crusading friend to lovesick suitor.   
  
With Blair so close, touching her so softly, Serena wasn’t strong enough to resist the desire to taste the lips she had thought about all day. She rose up on her knees to close the distance between them. She smiled when Blair met her halfway.  
  
Lips met slowly, the shift in their relationship still too new for anything more urgent after a day’s absence. Serena inhaled the scent that was uniquely Blair and savored the feel of the soft, wet mouth moving against her own.  
  
Blair cradled Serena’s face in her hands and even through the haze of physical sensations coursing through her body, she knew she was holding her heart as well. It was a heady realization and Blair slowly pulled back from the kiss.  
  
“Miss Blair. Miss Serena.” Dorota’s voice filtered into the room followed by a knock.  
  
They stayed where they were, confident the sanctuary would not be breached. “What is it Dorota?” Blair’s voice sounded foreign to her own ears.  
  
“Your mother sent me up to assist you in your search for the class notes.”  
  
Serena captured Blair’s hands and kissed each palm. “That’s my cue.” She stood and pulled the brunette with her. She wrapped Blair in a hug and whispered quickly, “I don’t want to get you in trouble with your mother. We can’t have you getting grounded, especially not this Friday.”  
  
“Miss Blair?”  
  
“Please tell mother we found them. I’ll be down in just a moment.” Blair called over Serena’s shoulder.  
  
“What’s special about this Friday?”  
  
Serena gave Blair a final squeeze before releasing her. She needed to see her reaction. “I’d like to take you out to dinner. Someplace quiet, with great food and an even better wine selection.”  
  
“S.”  
  
Serena stepped away, unable to decipher the endearment. “Too soon, right? This is just…it’s new, too new. I should have waited.”  
  
Blair reached for her hand. “No, it’s not too soon. I’m still getting used to this, this change and I haven’t thought much beyond all of the kissing.” She felt the heat rise on her neck with the confession.  
  
“I know. That’s why I want to take you out.” She turned towards the door. “I need to get to know my best friend, again. And while I really, really like learning about the kissing side of you, which I hope we’ll revisit often,” Serena leaned in to press her lips against Blair’s cheek, “it’s more than that for me.”   
  
Blair tugged at the hand she still held, her heart breaking a little when Serena couldn’t quite meet her eyes. “That’s the sweetest invitation I’ve ever received.” She hesitated until Serena’s eyes reached her own. “I’d love to have dinner with you.”  
  
It was date, an evening filled with promise and sealed with a kiss.

 

TBC


	2. Dinner in the City

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's date night for Serena and Blair.

Serena glanced in the mirror one last time. She wore her hair loose; the long curls framed her face without obscuring her features. Her make-up was simple, a touch of mascara and lip gloss. She had retrieved the ear rings she knew Blair was fond of and the new Oscar de la Renta black cashmere and silk scoop neck sweater and skinny tweed pants looked good on her long frame. She rarely wore so little color, but when she had tried it on, she knew instinctively that Blair would love the style and the monochrome colors.  
  
And she needed to know, really know that Blair was going to love something about the evening. Serena took a deep breath to calm her nerves. The past five days had been a whirlwind. Between classes and trying to orchestrate the perfect first date, her anxiety had steadily climbed throughout the week.  
  
Serena nearly jumped out of her skin when her cell phone rang. She glanced at the caller ID and flipped it open.  
  
“Hi, Eric.” She spoke quickly as walked out of her room.  
  
He picked up on her nervousness immediately. “How are you doing?”  
  
She didn’t even consider lying to him. “I’m scared to death.”  
  
“Please tell me you didn’t change the reservations for the sixth time.”  
  
She smiled at his teasing tone. “No. I kept the reservation I made a La Houppa.” She glanced at her watch. “Speaking of reservations, I need to run; I don’t want to be late to pick up Blair.”  
  
“Good luck, sis.”  
  
*******************************  
  
Blair pulled the curlers out of her hair and ran a brush through her brown locks. She surveyed the disaster that was her bedroom from the reflection in the mirror. Between the seven outfits, too many to count pairs of shoes and accessories she had tried on and discarded, clothing was strewn across the room. She finally settled on a black Donna Karan bubble dress she had purchased the previous day.  
  
Trying to zip up the dress with shaking fingers made her regret banishing Dorota from her room for the rest of the evening. Blair had snapped when she realized that the housekeeper had picked up on a nervousness she couldn’t easily explain.   
  
She had been on edge the entire week. She had found herself thoroughly freaked out when Serena had greeted her on Monday morning in her typically touchy feely way. Even though Serena assured her that their classmates would only notice if they acted differently than they normally did, she wasn’t as confident and she found herself scrutinizing her fellow students’ actions to a degree even she found annoying.  
  
A knock at her door brought her focus back to the present. “Miss Blair, Miss Serena is downstairs.”  
  
Blair took a deep breath and pulled her midnight blue wrap around her shoulders before opening the door. “Thank you, Dorota. Please see to my room and that will be all for tonight.”  
  
She swept past the housekeeper and descended the stairs. She paused on the bottom step, grateful that she saw Serena before the blonde saw her. Serena was standing in front of the window, the lights of the city giving her profile an ethereal glow. Blair couldn’t remember her ever looking so lovely.  
  
Serena felt Blair’s eyes on her and took a moment to soak in the open admiration before turning to her friend. What she saw took her breath away. Blair was resplendent in the black dress with the plunging neckline.  
  
They approached each other shyly and spoke at the same time.  
  
“You look great.”  
  
“You look amazing.”  
  
Serena reached for Blair’s hand hoping the contact would help her settle down. “We have reservations at La Houppa at 7:30, but if you’d mphf.” If Blair’s fingertips against her lips had not effectively stopped her speech, then the chaste but lingering kiss she bestowed would have.  
  
Blair broke the contact and looked into green eyes dancing with energy. “Let’s go then.”  
  
Serena took a step back and let Blair precede her into the elevator. The ride down was silent and though she desperately wanted to hold her hand, Serena resisted until they were tucked safely into the back of the limo.  
  
Blair looked down at their joined hands resting in her lap and did not immediately notice the single long stemmed white rose Serena offered.  
  
“I wanted to get you a dozen, but I didn’t want you to have to explain them to your mother.”  
  
Touched beyond measure at the simple gesture, Blair brought the petals near and inhaled their sweet fragrance. “This is perfect. Thank you.” She kissed Serena’s cheek then sat back against the seat.  
  
Silence settled over them; Blair mesmerized by the gentle repeating stroke of Serena’s thumb over her knuckles; Serena felt a little lost for conversation now that the evening was upon them.  
  
She had spent the past five days thinking of nothing but and planning for the next few hours alone with Blair. Serena wished she had googled “what to say to your best friend on your first date,” as the silence stretched between them.  
  
Unable to tolerate the quiet any longer, Serena blurted the first thing that popped into her mind. “I can cook.”  
  
Blair flinched at the silence shattering declaration. She glanced at Serena and wide green eyes stared back. She had to press her fist against her lips to keep a laugh from escaping.  
  
Shitshitshitshitshit. Serena hung her head and wished she could crawl in a hole and die.  
  
Blair tried to remain composed but the giggles could not be contained. “You didn’t tell me you had perfected your rain man impersonation.”  
  
Blair’s laughter was infectious and pulled Serena from her embarrassment. When she spoke she did spot on mimic of Dustin Hoffman, “I’m an excellent driver.”  
  
They collapsed into a new fit of laughter, leaning on each other for support, as Serena alternated her declaration and the quote from the movie several more times. Her hands pressed to her middle, Blair rested her head on Serena’s shoulder and tried to catch her breath.  
  
Serena pulled two tissues and her compact from her purse. She checked her make-up. “Let me see if I managed to ruin your make-up.”  
  
Blair raised and angled her head toward Serena. Their faces were so close together their breath mingled and the energy in the car quickly became more intimate.  
  
“Would I be breaking first date etiquette if I kissed you before dinner?” Serena whispered against Blair’s lips just as the car came to a stop in front of the restaurant. She pulled back and watched Blair blow out a frustrated breath.  
  
They each accepted the hand of the driver as they exited the car. Serena walked a step ahead of Blair and held the door to the establishment open for her. Once they were seated, Serena handed a California chardonnay to their server to be chilled. The corkage fee was a small price to pay to make certain Blair had her favorite white wine with dinner.  
  
They were seated at the most private table in the restaurant and Serena kept stealing glances as Blair studied the menu.  
  
“They have some really good chicken dishes here.”  
  
“Oh. I hadn’t had a reason to tell you yet. I’m a vegetarian now. I gave up red meat and chicken a couple of months ago.” Blair looked up from the menu. “S, what’s wrong?”  
  
“I should have asked. I just assumed things hadn’t changed and didn’t even think to ask.”  
  
Blair laid her hand over Serena’s. “It’s fine. I have enough options that making a choice is going to be difficult.” She gave the hand beneath hers a squeeze and offered her a smile. “If I were in your shoes, I wouldn’t have thought to ask either.”  
  
"Will it bother you if I have the chicken?”  
  
“Why would it?”  
  
Serena flashed a mega watt smile at her. “Because I plan on kissing you later and I don’t want my chicken breath to turn you off.”  
  
“Eeww. Well when you put it that way…”  
  
Serena gestured towards Blair when their server returned with the wine. He presented the label and poured a small amount to taste in Blair’s glass. She checked the bouquet and took a healthy swallow.   
  
“It’s wonderful. Thank you.” She directed the comments toward the server, but her eyes never left Serena’s face, which had taken on a slightly pink hue.  
  
Their wine glasses full, Serena lifted hers in a simple toast. “To new beginnings between old friends.”  
  
“To new beginnings.” They clinked glasses and held each other’s gaze over the candle light until the waiter returned to take their orders.   
  
With his departure Blair took control of conversation. “What did you mean earlier when you said you can cook?”  
  
Serena glanced at Blair to see if she was teasing and saw only sincere interest. “When I was at boarding school, I lived in the dormitory and several of the girls on my floor had a potluck dinner once a week.”  
  
She took a sip of her wine before continuing. “I got tired of cafeteria food and of eating out. I didn’t feel right just crashing their dinner without contributing, so I asked for some cooking lessons.”  
  
Serena fidgeted under Blair’s scrutiny. “What?”  
  
Blair shook her head. “I’m trying to imagine you wearing an apron and whipping up some culinary delight.”  
  
Serena laughed. “No, I wouldn’t call what I’m capable of throwing together a culinary delight. But I do make a mean vegetable stir fry that fits into your new dietary practice.”  
  
Blair still couldn’t quite see Serena chopping vegetables. “You’ll have to make it for me sometime.”  
  
“I wish the apartment remodel was done, if it were I’d cook for you tomorrow night.”  
  
“I have a kitchen and with Eleanor gone again, we would have the place to ourselves.”   
  
Serena took advantage of her full wine glass to process a few pieces of data. One, Blair wanted her to cook for her. Two, they now essentially had a second date on the books. And three, they would be alone in Blair’s home tonight when Serena saw her to her door.  
  
Blair’s natural tendency to organize and control things kicked into high gear. “Just email me a list of what you want Dorota to shop for. I’ll have her pick up everything you need and then give her the night off or you’ll have more help than you want in the kitchen.”   
  
Serena waited as the server set twin plates of pear and asiago cheese ravioli in walnut sauce on the table. “I appreciate the offer, but I’d rather do the shopping myself. Do you want to go with me?”  
  
Blair blew on the pasta perched on her fork. “Why, do you have some fantasy of seeing me in an apron?”  
  
Serena choked on the water she was drinking. An image of Blair in nothing but an apron leapt into her mind.  
  
“I didn’t until you just said it.”  
  
Blair felt the heat rise on her cheeks. Based on the blush on Serena’s cheeks, she knew exactly how the blonde had just pictured her. She checked her feelings about being thought of in a sexual manner by her best friend and realized there was no unease.  
  
“As long as you aren’t picturing me in stiletto heels…” she trailed off and Serena choked on her water again.  
  
She pulled the napkin from her lap and wiped her mouth. She pointed her fork at Blair. “You have to stop saying things like that unless you want me to drown on spring water here at the table.”  
  
Serena received a patented Blair Waldorf smirk, but the brunette complied with the request.  
  
**********************  
  
Serena slid into the limo and smiled when Blair immediately laced their fingers together and snuggled against her side. They had enjoyed a wonderful meal, talked late into the evening over post dinner coffee and Serena found herself wishing the date wasn’t nearing its end. She closed her eyes and soaked up the warmth emanating from Blair where there bodies touched.  
  
“I wish I could take you dancing. Not some dance club, but a jazz club where I could slow dance with you for the rest of the night.” Serena shifted until she could wrap her arm around Blair and pull her closer.   
  
“I’m not ready to let you go either.” Blair whispered near her ear.  
  
The emotion welled up and took over before Serena could rein it in. “I’m so in love with you.”  
  
Blair pulled back just enough to see Serena without leaving the shelter of her arms. “S…”  
  
Serena dashed at the tears threatening to fall. “If this were a normal first date, you’d be right to think I’m nuts. But it isn’t. I’ve known you all my life. You’re my best friend and I love you. I don’t mean to scare you, but I’m crazy about you, B.” She took a breath as the limo coasted to a stop in front of Blair’s home. “I don’t expect you to say it back. I’ve had months to adjust to what I feel for you and you can’t possibly be in the same place. I just…I couldn’t…”  
  
Blair cupped her face and placed gentle kisses on her forehead, her eyes and her cheeks before softly claiming her lips. Serena whimpered against Blair’s mouth as she slowly pulled back.  
  
Blair kissed her again until the driver opened the door. She accepted his hand and stepped out before turning and offering her hand to Serena. “Spend the night with me.”

 

************************

 

Serena took the proffered hand, exited the car and tried to stop the desire that threatened to spread like wildfire through her limbs at Blair’s not-so-innocent sounding invitation. Like the elevator ride down to start the evening, the return trip was just as silent, with each of them lost in their private thoughts.  
  
 _“What the hell was I thinking? Declaring undying love on the first date; so much for going slow. At least Blair didn’t get spooked...”_  
  
Blair leaned against the elevator wall, Serena’s words on a repeat loop in her mind. _“I’m so in love with you.”_ She looked down at her shaking hands and willed her pounding heart to slow. Nate had told her he loved her too many times to count, but it took Serena’s quiet expression to truly breach the carefully constructed wall she kept around her heart. It both thrilled and frightened her.  
  
A part of her brain had told her to run, to end the fledgling relationship before the opportunities to hurt or be hurt by Serena grew exponentially. Instead she had followed her heart by asking Serena to stay. She said a silent prayer for both of them that she had chosen the right path.  
  
The doors opened and Serena followed Blair out, immediately reaching for her hand and pulling her to a stop and then a little closer. She rested her forehead against Blair’s and spoke softly, “I need you to know that you asking me to spend the night…I don’t have any expectations… other than getting to spend more time with you...” Blair felt Serena’s warm breath on her face. “I’m not in a rush to take things to another level.”  
  
Blair leaned forward an inch and captured Serena’s lips in an easy kiss. “S, if I thought you said you loved me just to…I would have never invited you up, must less asked you to spend the night.” She kissed her again and lingered until she felt Serena’s hands start a gentle caress on her bare arms; Blair shivered at the contact and broke away.  
  
“Do you want some more wine?” Serena’s hands were still running slowly up and down her arms making it hard to talk. “I think Eleanor has a bottle of what we had with dinner already chilled.”  
  
“I’d love some, in a minute though, okay?” Serena looked down into darkening brown eyes. “Right now I need to kiss you again.” She didn’t give Blair more than a few seconds to object before she seized the lips still so very close to her own. She thrilled at the tentative answering touch of Blair’s tongue against her own.  
  
Blair didn’t know how long they stayed that way. All she knew was Serena’s mouth against her own, the stroke of their tongues against one another, and Serena’s hands on her back holding her close. The need for a lungful of air finally made her wrench her mouth away.  
  
“Where did you learn to kiss like that?” Blair buried her face in Serena’s neck and inhaled her perfume. “Scratch that, I really don’t want to know.”  
  
Serena’s long arms drifted down around Blair’s waist and held her closer, savoring the feel of their bodies touching. “I’ve never kissed anyone the way I kiss you, B.” She kissed the top of her head. “I haven’t wanted to kiss anyone like this.”  
  
“Really?” Blair murmured the question against the pulse beating double time in Serena’s throat. She brought her fingertips to the pulse point and caressed the silken skin.   
  
Serena took in a shaky breath. Blair’s touch had taken on an intimate quality and she struggled to answer. “The way we kiss,” she swallowed hard, “the way you’re touching me right now…it’s us…it feels really right because it’s you and me.” She stopped talking when Blair pressed full lips to her jaw before traveling back toward her ear and down her neck.  
  
“Is this okay?” Blair, mesmerized by how soft Serena’s skin was under her lips, didn’t immediately notice the blonde’s breathing shorten.  
  
Serena, eyes closed, tilted her head to give Blair greater access. “If this is the way we’re going to go slow…” she couldn’t finish the thought because she felt the warmth of Blair’s mouth on her earlobe.  
  
Blair snapped back into awareness beyond the physical when she heard Serena gasp. She pulled back and realized that they had somehow moved from the foyer. Blair took stock of their position; she had Serena pinned against the wall. She quickly stepped back.  
  
“God, S. I’m sorry.” She expected to feel the anxiety that would normally accompany the lack of control she just experienced and was surprised when it didn’t materialize. “I don’t know what happened.”   
  
Blair took another step back until the only physical connection between them was their joined hands. “I didn’t intend to send you mixed signals.” She could barely meet the shining green eyes staring back at her. “Am I making you crazy?”  
  
Serena smiled at her best friend tenderly. “You aren’t sending me mixed signals. And yes, you’re making me a little crazy.” When Blair’s eyes fell to the floor, Serena continued quickly, “In a very good, very pleasurable way.”  
  
When Blair looked up with uncertainty, Serena’s smile broadened. “You won’t hear me complaining because you want to kiss me…or to touch me.”  
  
Blair felt the blush rise on her face. She cleared her throat and tried to regain some semblance of control. “Do you want that wine now?”  
  
Serena released her hands and nodded, understanding that Blair had just crossed an invisible line in her head and needed a few moments to process it.  
  
Blair turned to leave then turned back around. “I’m not running away.”  
  
“I know, B.” Serena smiled what she hoped was reassuring smile. “Do you feel like listening to music?”  
  
“That sounds nice. One of my iPods is in the living room, just hook it into the sound system.”   
  
Blair took her time selecting two crystal wine glasses, opening the wine and filling them with wine from the same vintner Serena had brought to dinner. The distinctive voice of Etta James drew Blair’s attention to the living room. She could tell before turning the corner that Serena had dimmed the lights and lit the candles in the corners of the room leaving Blair to take in the romantic ambience.  
  
Serena turned as Blair entered the room. “Is this music okay? I’m in the mood for jazz and I found the ‘Blair Bear’s Jazz’ playlist and assumed it was something your dad did for you.”  
  
“Dad is really into this and the blues and he thinks if he shares playlists with me, composed solely of strong women artists I’ll fall in love with it, too.” Her voice held a tone of irritation as she handed Serena a glass of wine.  
  
Serena started to bring up the playlist menu on the device but Blair’s touch stopped her actions. “As much as it irritates me, he’s right. I am becoming quite fond of it.”  
  
They sat together on the chaise and let the music act as a cocoon around them. Blair laced her fingers through Serena’s and she realized in that moment that she had been the one to initiate most of the physical contact between them this night. It came together in her mind like the pieces of a puzzle; Serena was letting her set the pace.   
  
She was fascinated with the side of Serena she was coming to know. Blair had always thought that deep down inside the blonde was a romantic at heart; that she was the person bringing it to the surface was a gift.  
  
 _“I’m crazy about you, B,”_ echoed through her mind, making her knees weak and immensely grateful that she was already sitting on the chaise. She was only pulled from her reverie when Serena asked, “Will you dance with me?”  
  
Blair smiled and answered without thought or hesitation, “I’d love to.” She sat her glass on the coffee table beside Serena’s. She took the hand Serena offered and followed her to part of the living room that was a bit more open.  
  
She settled her hands around Serena’s neck and had a fleeting thought that it wasn’t all that different than dancing with Nate since he and Serena were nearly the same height. And then it was nothing like dancing with Nate. Serena was all grace, and curves and softness and Blair felt like she was dancing for the first time.  
  
Serena’s hands were warm as they stroked her bare arms and Blair found the touch was soothing and exciting at the same time. She tucked her head against Serena’s shoulder and wrapped her arm around her waist. They were dating. Serena van der Woodsen was her…girlfriend. Though she didn’t say it out loud, Blair tasted the word on her tongue. Girlfriend. It was sweet and protective and perfectly described Serena and the way she treated Blair.  
  
Serena was distantly aware that Etta had given way to Dinah Washington to Billie Holiday. She felt the subtle press of Blair’s fingertips at the base of her spine urging her closer. She shifted her weight and their bodies touched along their length and Blair shuddered at the contact. She lowered her mouth to Blair’s ear, “You feel so good in my arms.”  
  
Blair had been following as Serena slowly moved them across the room, but she had to stop when Serena pressed closer. She wasn’t yet used to the sensations skittering throughout her body that their closeness created.  
  
Serena eased her hold on Blair and gently tipped her head back until their eyes met. “Is this still okay?”  
  
Blair had to close her eyes against the physical sensations. Nate had never made her feel so…so bothered. Serena’s hands were wandering her back and arms making her skin tingle everywhere she touched and the way their bodies molded together left her short of breath as they kissed.  
  
Blair pulled her mouth away. “Please tell me you’re feeling this, too,” she whispered hoarsely.  
  
Serena’s thumbs rested under her jaw and Blair found herself staring into concerned eyes when Serena gently tipped her face up. “Open your eyes, B.” Serena smiled at her tenderly. “I do. I’m right here with you.”  
  
The clock in the foyer sounded. Twelve bells for midnight. Blair closed her eyes and opened them again. As much as it had felt like one, it wasn’t a dream.  
  
Wordlessly, Blair stepped out of Serena’s embrace and led her to the staircase. “Do you still want to stay?”  
  
Serena brought the hand she was holding to her mouth and brushed her lips over the back of it. “Absolutely.” Her smile matched Blair’s as they ascended the stairs.  
  
Blair closed the door behind Serena and walked to her dresser. She pulled a worn Yale t-shirt and matching boxers from the bottom of the drawer and tossed them to her friend.  
  
“I don’t think I can handle the amount of flesh that will be showing if you try to wear my clothes tonight, so you get to wear my Dad’s instead.”   
  
Serena watched her blush furiously and tried very hard to keep a neutral face. It was the first time Blair had spoken of a physical attraction. “Fair enough. I’ll go down the hall and change,” even though she managed to keep her voice even, she left the room quickly.  
  
Blair picked up the silk nightie she would normally wear and laid it back across her dressing chair. “Not tonight.” She went back to the dresser and selected a soft t-shirt and a pair of shorts for herself.   
  
She had just settled on the bed when Serena knocked on the door and entered with her hands covering her eyes. “Are you decent?”  
  
“Depends on who you ask.”  
  
Serena overtly peeked between her fingers. “Tell me you aren’t wearing an apron.”  
  
Blair snorted. “You wish.”  
  
Serena bit her tongue from blurting something that resembled, _“Hell yes!”_  
  
Instead she pulled back the covers and sat on the bed. “I went back down and shut off the music and blew out the candles.” She lay beside Blair and turned on her side to face her. “I had a great time with you tonight.”  
  
She smiled when Blair touched her face with her fingertips. “I did, too. You planned a wonderful first date.” Blair pressed a kiss to her cheek, before moving to her mouth. She lingered there for a moment before she turned onto her side.  
  
Serena felt Blair’s hand grasp hers and tug slightly. She rolled and pressed snuggly against Blair’s back and settled her arm across her waist.  
  
The moonlight streamed through the window, casting shadow and light on the would-be-lovers as sleep claimed them for the night.

 

************************

 

Serena squinted against the early morning light pouring through the floor to ceiling windows. Not yet fully awake she didn’t initially register the body draped across her own until she tried unsuccessfully to roll away from the light piercing her eyes.  
  
 _Blair._  
  
Her lips held a lazy smile when she raised her head and took in their positions. The sheet was pooled around their waists and Serena was pinned to the bed flat on her back. Blair’s head was on her shoulder, with an arm resting across her chest and a leg thrown across her thigh.  
  
Serena’s head fell back against the pillows. She allowed herself a few moments to savor the feel of Blair’s body pressed so intimately against her own. Serena brought her arms down to encircle her best friend.  
  
With Blair safely tucked into her arms she was able to contemplate the changes that had occurred in their relationship without the uncertainty that plagued her when she was alone. In less than two weeks time they had gone from friends to enemies and back again. And now they were dating. Serena closed her eyes and prayed in gratitude for the gift of the woman in her arms.  
  
She tilted her head and studied Blair as she slept. Her face was completely relaxed; her lovely features softer than they would ever be during her waking hours when the Waldorf mask would be firmly in place. The brow which would furrow in consternation and aggravation many times over the course of the day was perfectly smooth.   
  
Serena pressed her lips against Blair’s forehead and whispered reverently against her skin. “You can trust me with your heart, B. I swear I won’t break it.” Her eyes fluttered closed and she listened to Blair’s even breathing.   
  
Blair snuggled even closer and the hand that had been resting on Serena’s shoulder drifted forcing Serena to grasp the fingers that came dangerously close to resting on top of her breast.  
  
Serena intercepted the wandering hand and detoured it up to her lips. She kissed the palm then tucked it against her chest. Serena’s fingertips grazed the back of Blair’s hand until she rejoined her best friend in slumber.  
  
****************************************  
  
A soft snore breached the silence, its persistent occurrence nudging the smaller of the two young women into that space between dreams and reality with each quiet breath. She was vaguely aware of the warm body she was wrapped around.  
  
 _Serena._  
  
The heartbeat directly beneath her ear sounded a far-away, steady rhythm that nearly lulled her back into a deeper sleep. It would have, if Blair’s brain hadn’t engaged on some level that she was stroking soft skin instead of a cotton t-shirt.  
  
Eyes closed she felt rather than saw the smooth expanse of skin exposed where the t-shirt had ridden up and the boxers had edged down. Her fingers twitched against a softness she hadn’t imagined in the light of day. Blair’s minds eye saw the muscles shift subtly beneath a tan surface. Her fingertips grazed low on the taut stomach in an intermittent caress as she drifted at the edge of dozing.  
  
Strong sensations cursed through Blair’s body jerking her back toward consciousness. She was remotely aware of her pulse and of a pleasant heat flowing through her body before it settled into a distant throb low in her belly. She turned further into Serena’s body; her fingertips disappearing beneath the bunched up hem of Serena’s shirt.  
  
Serena twisted and turned onto her side; her hands raising material and pushing aside the barrier to the bare skin of Blair’s back. They were waking together through a sensual haze, both feeling the heat flare where they lay skin against skin at the thigh and belly.   
  
A quiet moan escaped the blonde’s lips as she hovered around the edges of sleep as Blair’s gentle fingers traced widening circles against Serena’s abdomen, knuckles brushing the soft underside of her breast.  
  
Long arms wrapped firmly around Blair, Serena rolled unto her back and felt Blair settle on top of her. More awake than not, Blair pressed her lips against Serena’s neck and nipped at the pulse point beating rapidly.  
  
A strong hand applied gentle pressed against the base of Blair’s spine and she shifted her weight. Bare legs tangled together bringing Serena fully awake and almost painfully stimulated. She turned her head to capture Blair’s lips in a kiss.  
  
Blair was lost, the level of arousal beating through her body wholly unexpected and new. She couldn’t focus on anything; she felt like she was outside her body watching the passion play unfold. The desire to touch Serena’s body so strong she was shaking to her core.  
  
Serena tore her mouth away from Blair’s when tentative fingers moved higher on her chest; a gasp turned into a groan when a warm hand cupped her breast through the thin t-shirt.  
  
Too fast. Too fast. Too fast.  
  
“Blair.” She whispered desperately. Desire sparked along her spine and flared along her nerve endings to each place their skin touched causing her to draw in a ragged breath. Serena’s mind screamed at her to roll away but she didn’t have the fortitude to pull away from the exquisite contact of Blair’s thumb stroking ever closer to the nipple straining against her shirt.  
  
“I didn’t know it could feel like this.”  
  
Serena felt her guts clench over the passion in Blair’s voice. “I didn’t either.”  
  
Blair raised her head and looked at Serena. What she saw forced the breath from her lungs. Serena’s head was thrown back, her skin flushed with desire.   
  
“I want to be with you, S.”   
  
Unfocused green eyes turned towards Blair. She knew they needed to slow down, that they were caught up in a moment. But looking at Blair, seeing the need in her eyes and feeling it in her touch and in her body, Serena didn’t know if she had the strength to do the right thing.

 

************************

 

“I know what I want, S. I want you.”   
  
Serena captured the hand moving tenderly against her breast. “Blair,” she whispered hoarsely.  
  
She sat up and pulled her fingers from Serena’s loose grasp. Blair sat back on her heels, straddling Serena’s waist and watched Serena’s eyes track to her shaking hands as Blair gripped the bottom of her own t-shirt and lifted slowly.  
  
Serena swallowed hard. Tantalizing skin begging to be touched appeared before her eyes and she knew it would be so very easy to give into Blair’s gentle seduction.  
  
With an unsteady touch, she covered Blair’s hands, stilling the motion that threatened to push her past the point of no return. “Blair. Wait.”   
  
“Why?” Confused brown eyes slid towards green.  
  
“We should,” Serena closed her eyes and tried to focus on something, anything besides the incredible warmth and softness of Blair’s body. “We should slow down.” Blair’s silken mouth pressed against her own, her hand sliding under the Yale t-shirt Serena wore effectively halting the protest on her lips.  
  
“I don’t want to slow down, S.” Blair’s thumb stroked once, twice and one of them sighed, “Oh, god.” Serena’s nipple tightened painfully and she arched into the hand cupping it.  
  
“I’ve waited my whole life…I want you to be the one.” Blair’s hands slid down and began to ease Serena’s shirt higher, exposing more skin.  
  
The words and their meaning slipped through the high Serena floated on. The heels of her hands and feet dug into the mattress and she propelled herself away from Blair’s gentle touch and higher on the bed into a sitting position.  
  
“The one? B…you and Na-, while I was away, you didn’t?” her voice was even though her body was on fire.  
  
Blair held her gaze and cocked an eyebrow. “I just got farther with you than he ever got with me.”  
  
Serena was saved from replying by the insistent ring of her cell phone but Blair made no move to release her.  
  
“It could be important, B.”  
  
Blair leaned forward and whispered against her lips, “Nothing is as important to me as you.” She leaned across Serena and picked up the phone, holding it against her chest. “But I will humor you this once.”  
  
She glanced at the caller id, Ostroff Center, and put the cell on speaker phone. “Eric, it’s a little early to be calling don’t you think?”  
  
“This is Randall Conrad from the Ostroff Center. Am I speaking with Serena van der Woodsen?” The man’s voice was official and aloof.  
  
Serena took the phone from Blair. “This is Serena. Has something happened with my brother?”  
  
“I haven’t been able to reach Eric’s mother and you are listed as next of kin in case of emergency.” Blair watched as the blood drained from Serena’s face.  
  
Blair listened as he cleared his throat and she could tell by the cadence of his speech he was picking his words carefully. “There was an incident at the Center this morning. Your brother was involved and he has been transported to the Mount Sinai Medical Center.”  
  
Blair caught the phone as it slipped from Serena’s grasp. “You’re scaring her, Mr. Conrad. Is Eric badly hurt?” She pressed the phone back into Serena’s hand and she went to dresser, pulling out clothing for each of them.  
  
The pause before he answered had Blair ready to climb the walls. “It would not be appropriate for me to comment on Eric’s injuries as I am not a physician or the nature of the altercation until the Center has conducted a thorough investigation. I would suggest you make your way to the medical center as soon as possible.”   
  
Officious. Sanctimonious.  
  
“Miss van der Woodsen, will you be making contact with your mother, or should I continue with my efforts?”  
  
Prick.   
  
Blair stalked towards the bed and her shell shocked best friend. “I suggest you do your god-damned job Mr. Conrad and keep calling Lily until you reach her.” She snapped the phone shut and blew out a frustrated breath. She ached with the need to pull Serena into her arms and comfort her, an instinct she ignored fearing they’d both fall apart. “Come on, S. Let’s get you dressed and get out of here.”  
  
Serena felt numb as she let Blair guide her to the bathroom and help her clean-up. Gentle hands quickly wiped away the traces of the previous evening and pulled long-blonde hair into a pony-tail.  
  
The thoughts filling Serena’s mind were like mercury. Without rhyme or reason, and unable to grasp or still them, they slipped away almost as soon as she became aware of them. It was disorienting how quickly her psyche shuffled the mental images. Serena pressed her hands against the vanity and bowed her head. Suddenly Eric’s face came clearly into view; the air left her lungs and her knees buckled.  
  
“Blair, what if he’s…?” Blair felt like she had been sucker punched when Serena lifted devastated eyes and met her gaze in the mirror.  
  
She put her hands on Serena’s shoulder and turned her until they were face to face. “He’s not. Don’t even think it. Whatever’s happened, he’ll be okay.” Blair rubbed her hands up and down Serena’s arm as she raised up to kiss her forehead. “I’m going to call for a car and get dressed.” She stopped in the doorway and looked back. “Your old toothbrush is in the drawer.”  
  
Serena let her mind shut down and operated on auto-pilot. Later she wouldn’t remember brushing her teeth, dressing or even getting in the car. But she would remember everything Blair did for her, and for Eric.   
  
She would remember Blair giving Dorota the numbers to Lily’s cell and to the hotel with instructions to call both every five minutes until she answered or returned the call. She would remember Blair’s not so even tones as she called the emergency room and tried to get an update on Eric’s condition. She would remember Blair’s hand holding her own, gentle kisses on her temple and words murmured to comfort as the car made its way through traffic.  
  
“S?” Blair stood outside the car, her hand extended to the blonde.  
  
Serena experienced déjà vu and thought fleetingly that less than twenty-four hours had passed since she had seen Blair in that exact stance. Their date felt like a lifetime ago.  
  
She accepted Blair’s hand and stepped out of the car. An ambulance, lights and sirens active screeched to a halt beside the town car. The sights and sounds slammed Serena jarringly back to reality.  
  
Eric.  
  
“I don’t think I can do this.” Her feet felt rooted to the asphalt.  
  
Blair stepped close. “You can. You can because Eric needs you. And because you need to see him.” She brushed away the tears that slid down Serena’s cheek. “I’ll be with you every step, okay. I won’t leave until you ask me to.”  
  
Serena managed a weak smile. “I can’t imagine asking you to.”  
  
“Then I’ll be right beside you.”

 

TBC


	3. Waiting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blair is there when Serena needs her most.

“Serena, you’re going to exhaust yourself pacing.”  
  
“I can’t help it. I need to see him.”  
  
Blair reached out and snagged Serena’s hand and pulled her to a stop. She wrapped her arms around Serena’s waist and pressed her body against Serena’s back. “They’ll bring him back down as soon as they finish the tests. He’s going to be okay, S.”  
  
Serena soaked up the strength in Blair’s embrace as she voiced her fears, “He hasn’t woken up yet. What if he’s bleeding in his brain? That’s what this test is for, right?”  
  
“Shhh. The MRI is just a precaution.” Blair had forced herself to focus when the doctor explained the extent of Eric’s injuries, knowing Serena couldn’t absorb them in her concerned state of mind.  
  
“I know, but,” she was cut off by the curtain being pulled back.  
  
A frantic Lily’s eyes were drawn to the empty bed, then Serena’s tear-streaked face. “Where’s Eric? Where is he, Serena?” she asked frantically.  
  
Blair could feel Serena’s heartbeat pick up as Lily’s anxious energy rolled off her in waves. She put a little physical distance between their bodies, choosing instead to hold Serena’s hand in Lily’s presence.  
  
“They’re running some tests.” Serena forced the words out around the lump in her throat.  
  
When she didn’t elaborate, Blair filled in the details. “He has a concussion, a broken wrist and a separated shoulder.”  
  
Lily sucked in a pained breath. “I don’t understand. How did this happen?”  
  
“Dr. Ndoran said the EMTs reported that he was hurt playing lacrosse.” Serena absently stroked Blair’s hand with her thumb.  
  
“There’s no lacrosse field at the Ostroff Center. Did he sneak out?”  
  
Blair shook her head. “We don’t know. Randall Conrad called to let Serena know Eric had been hurt, but we didn’t get any details.”  
  
Lily turned frustrated eyes to her daughter. “Did you even think to ask? I know how you get when you’re upset, Serena, you don’t think.”  
  
Serena looked at the floor, hurt and humiliated to that her mother would speak to like that, especially in front of Blair.  
  
“She asked, Lily.” Blair’s voice was cold. “The bastard wouldn’t tell her anything. He was too worried about you suing the Center.”  
  
Lily watched as Blair unconsciously wrapped her hand around Serena’s arm in a gesture of protection. She took a deep breath and turned her attention to her daughter. “I’m sorry. I’m...”  
  
“Worried about Eric,” she completed her mother’s sentence. “I know. So am I.”  
  
Lily wrestled a neutral expression onto her face. “Blair, thank you for having Dorota call me and for waiting here with Serena until I could arrive.”  
  
Years of practicing social niceties allowed Blair to present a gracious demeanor, when she really wanted to throttle Lily for lashing out and hurting Serena. “You’re welcome. Serena would have done the same for Eleanor.”  
  
Lily turned so she wasn’t blocking the path out of the ER. “Again, I appreciate you coming down. I’m sure you’d like to get back to your day.”  
  
They spoke at the same time. One voice firm, the other pained.  
  
“I’m not leaving until Serena asks me to.”  
  
“Blair’s staying unless she wants to go.”  
  
Lily knew she could assert her parental authority against the united front and have Blair removed, but the fierce hold Serena had on Blair’s hand convinced her that her best friend’s presence might be the only thing keeping her daughter together emotionally.  
  
********************************************  
  
Blair let tired eyes roam over the tableau that was van ser Woodsen family. Both Lily and Serena had surrendered to the inevitable crash after the heightened emotions of the day, but neither had strayed very far from Eric’s bedside over the last eight hours. Lily was sitting in a chair by the bed and had dozed off loosely holding the uninjured fingers on Eric’s left hand. Serena had perched on the bed by his uninjured right shoulder, curled loosely around him and closed her eyes.  
  
“Ow.” He tried to raise the arm already encased in cast, confusion clouding his eyes. “What happened?”  
  
Blair made a mental tic mark in her mind. It was twentieth time he had complained of the pain, looked at his injured arm and asked what had happened. She was too shaken by the reoccurring pattern to feel impatient as she answered.  
  
“You’ve got a broken wrist. Do you remember what happened?”  
  
The puzzled expression etched on his features made him look much younger than his fourteen years. “No.” He hissed in pain when he turned his head. “I feel like my head’s gonna explode.”  
  
She felt like a broken record but the doctor had encouraged them to answer his questions with consistency. She spoke to him quietly, “There’s a nasty bump on the side of your head. The doctor says you have a moderate concussion. It’s why you’re having trouble remembering things.”  
  
“How come you’re here?”  
  
She patted Serena’s calf. “I was with your sister when she got the call and I wanted to see for myself that you were okay.”  
  
He closed his eyes briefly and when he opened them Blair knew the question that was coming. “You guys had a date last night, right?”  
  
The first time he had asked she couldn’t contain the gasp of surprise that he knew about their evening. “Yes.”  
  
“She was nervous before she picked you up.”  
  
Blair glanced up to see a blush color Serena’s skin. “I was nervous, too.”  
  
His eyes slid shut for a few seconds as he tried to focus on a single thought. “She’s crazy about you, Blair.”  
  
“It’s mutual, E.”  
  
********************************************  
  
“Where’d you go?”  
  
“To meet Dorota downstairs. It’s been a long day and will be a longer night, so…” Blair held up laden hands with re-used bags from designer clothing stores.  
  
Lily appeared in the doorway of Eric’s private room. She looked from Blair to her daughter. “What’s going on?”  
  
“S, a little help.” Blair foisted half her load onto her best friend and stepped past Lily into Eric’s room. She sat the bags down and glanced toward the sleeping young man.  
  
“I thought he was supposed to stay awake with the concussion.”  
  
Serena dumped the bags on the floor. “Dr. Ndoran said we could let him sleep a couple of minutes at a time.” She started digging in the bags at her feet. “What is all of this, Blair? Blankets. Oh, and comfy clothes.” She smiled as the scent of roasted vegetables filled the air. “You got dinner?” Serena pressed a quick kiss against the side of Blair’s head and took the hot container from her. “You’re the best.”  
  
The praise was unexpectedly embarrassing to the brunette. “I just wanted to make the night a little easier for all of us.” She picked up the bag closest to the foot of the bed and held it out to Lily. “This might be more comfortable for you to wear.”  
  
She took the bag and glanced inside. “Thank you, Blair. This is all really very thoughtful.”  
  
“Grtmisfh,” At her mother’s pointed glare, Serena swallowed before continuing, “Sorry. This is really good. Mom, you should have some of this.”  
  
Lily stood looking down on her son, her fingers absently playing with the strand of pearls around her neck. “I don’t think I could keep it down.”  
  
“There’s some broth if you’d like that instead.”  
  
“No, thank you.” Blair stood silently, watching as Lily pushed Eric’s hair off his forehead. He blinked as his eyes adjusted to the low light in the room.  
  
“Ow.” Eric tried to raise the casted arm and asked in confusion, “What happened?” Blair noted with a sense of relief that that although the sequence was still repeating, it was happening at longer intervals.  
  
“Something smells good. Am I allowed to eat anything?”  
  
Lily opened her mouth to say no and was cut off by Serena. “Your doctor said ice chips and broth would be okay if you think you can stomach it.”  
  
Blair set the container and the spoon on the tray and slid it in front of Eric.  
  
“Wait, Eric, it may be too rich for you right now.”  
  
Serena looked up at her mother, exasperation coloring her face. “You can’t eat it for him, Mom. Let him try.”  
  
Blair turned away from the sight of Lily trying to help her son and focused on Serena. “How are you?”  
  
Serena stood up and pulled a startled Blair into a hug. “Thank you for being here with me.” She turned and rested her lips against Blair’s ear. “I love you, B.”  
  
Blair felt the emotion in the whispered words deep in her heart. The warmth of Serena’s body was a balm for a long day of worrying about the woman in her arms and the young man she knew Serena adored. When she opened her eyes and saw that Lily’s back was turned to them, Blair took advantage of the opportunity and pressed her lips against Serena’s for a long moment. “I love you, too.”  
  
********************************************  
  
With Eric being allowed to sleep for fifteen minutes at a time, Lily decided to stretch her legs. She stood and stretched until her back popped. A lone lamp provided the low light she needed to step carefully around the bed of blankets Blair stretched out on. Serena’s head was cushioned against Blair’s thigh; one hand curving around Blair’s calf.  
  
She could tell from her daughter’s even breathing that she had finally succumbed to sleep in the early morning hours. The steady motion of Blair’s fingers drifting through blonde hair was the only indication that the younger of the two was still awake.  
  
The closeness Serena and Blair shared still worried Lily. It was obvious that Serena, and even Eric, had forgiven Blair for the stunt she pulled at Ivy Week. But Lily was a mother and mothers didn’t forgive or forget easily when someone caused her children pain.  
  
She felt Blair’s eyes on her before she saw the tired brown eyes staring back at her. “I’ll keep an eye on them.”  
  
She glanced over her shoulder at her son and slipped quietly into the hall.  
  
********************************************  
  
Serena flung her purse across her bedroom. “I can’t believe you sided with my mother, Blair.”  
  
Blair leaned against the desk and kicked off her shoes. “S, you’re exhausted. You need some sleep.” They had been having this argument for the past fifteen minutes and Blair felt like they were both nearing the end of their patience with one another.  
  
“I should be with Eric.” Serena insisted. She started stripping off her clothing and walked past Blair into the bathroom.  
  
Blair was tired to the bone. All she wanted was a hot shower, to curl into a ball and sleep by Serena’s side for the next three days. She struggled to keep her eyes open and avoided sitting on the bed knowing she’d be asleep before her head hit the pillow.  
  
A keening cry from the bathroom pulled her focus from her own fatigue. She knocked on the door before pushing it open. What she saw broke her heart. Serena leaned against the inner shower wall crying.  
  
Over twenty-four hours of holding it together had taken a toll and with the emotional dam breached, the hours of worry and stress poured out in hard, body wracking sobs.  
  
“S, it’s okay.” Blair stepped into the shower fully clothed. The cold water was like pin pricks on her skin. She cranked up the hot water and pulled a shivering Serena into her arms and under the warm water. “I’ve got you. Let it go, just let it go.”  
  
She held Serena until the hot tears stopped falling and she felt the water start to cool again. Blair stepped from the shower first and grabbed a couple of towels. She wrapped one around Serena’s middle and draped the other over the blonde’s shoulders. She quickly stripped the soaked clothing from her body and slipped on an oversize Plaza Hotel robe.  
  
“Blair?” Serena’s eyes were closed and she swayed on her feet.  
  
“Hmm?”  
  
“Thank you. For everything.”  
  
Blair gave the blonde head another pass with the towel, before wringing the excess moisture from her own hair. Serena’s hand was warm in hers as she led her to the bed. “Let’s get some sleep.”

 

************************

 

“No, Serena. Absolutely not!” Lily van der Woodsen’s tone indicated that there was no room for discussion, negotiation or begging.  
  
It took everything Serena had to not stomp her foot like a six-year old denied ice cream and whine why not. She would have failed if a certain brunette she was trying to impress wasn’t a couple of feet away.  
  
“If I’m coming back to our two-bedroom suite at the hotel, where are we all supposed to sleep…and just exist?” Eric asked. He winced as he turned his head, but managed to wink at his sister when their mother covered her eyes in exasperation.  
  
“Lily, it’s really no problem. The guestroom at the penthouse is available.” Blair offered helpfully, if not innocently. The possibility of significant alone time with Serena had pumped the blood a bit harder through her veins when her body had been pleasantly humming since she had woken up in Serena’s arms again just two hours before.  
  
_Blair opened her eyes when she felt long arms pull her back against the warm body wrapped around her own. Soft hands raised the sleeves on the robe she had slept in and brushed down her arms, leaving gooseflesh in their wake. Full lips on her neck stole her breath. “If this is the way you touch me while you’re asleep, I’m not sure I can take it once you’re awake.”_  
  
_She felt Serena’s chest move against her back when she chuckled. “I seem to remember a certain someone with wandering hands when she woke up yesterday.”_  
  
_“Was that just yesterday?” She turned in the circle of Serena’s arms. Blonde hair stood on end and semi-dark circles were still evident under tired eyes, but all Blair really registered was the love she could feel in her best friend’s embrace._  
  
_“I think I could get addicted to waking up with you, B.” Blair closed her eyes as Serena placed kisses on her forehead and face. “This is nice.”_  
  
_“It is. You know what would be nicer?” Blair tucked her head on Serena’s shoulder and let her fingers drift down Serena’s chest._  
  
_“If I let you feel me up again?” Serena captured the hand that swatted at her shoulder._  
  
_“I know I kind of surprised you yesterday,” Blair blushed down to her roots and felt her pulse pick up remembering how easy it was to get lost in Serena’s soft skin. Then her train of thought vanished as Serena rolled and settled her body on top of Blair’s._  
  
_“It was the best kind of surprise. I hadn’t let myself think about you touching me like that,” Serena quietly confessed. “And now I’m having trouble thinking about anything else.”_  
  
_The last of the day’s light angled oddly through the windows and cast half of Serena’s face in shadows. “S…”_  
  
_Serena’s mouth descended upon hers with agonizing slowness and she flashed back to their first kiss in the rain. Blair pushed her hands into thick blonde hair and opened her mouth to meet Serena’s unhurried kiss. They both wanted more, but their emotional and physical exhaustion was a barrier neither could overcome._  
  
_Blair found herself swimming in green eyes, having no idea how long they kissed or when it ended. Serena was braced on one arm and her free hand drew lazy figure eights just below the hollow of Blair’s throat._  
  
_“I’m glad that I know…now, that you…haven’t…before.” Serena’s voice was a whisper and she couldn’t quite meet the brown eyes looking up at her._  
  
_“Why? Were you planning to ravage me and now you aren’t? Well, that’s disappointing.” Blair’s flippant remark earned her a poke in the ribs._  
  
_“I’m being serious, B. I know you’ve had a… fantasy…uh…ideas about los-…that night for years. So… now I can…do that for you...give you a perfect night… when you’re ready.” Serena felt the heat rise on her face and wondered when she became an awkward teenage boy._  
  
_She pressed her fingers against Serena’s mouth. “I’m going to blame the fact that you seem to forget I threw myself at you yesterday morning on the Eric situation.”_  
  
_“Trust me, I haven’t forgotten, but,” Serena mumbled against Blair’s fingertips, which were immediately pressed a little more firmly against her lips._  
  
_Blair turned her head and pressed her lips to Serena’s palm. “The fantasy I had, it doesn’t exist anymore. You don’t have anything to live up to.”_  
  
_Serena wrapped Blair in tight hug and rolled onto her back. She reached up and tucked long brown locks behind Blair’s ear. “Your first time should be special. If,” at Blair’s pointed look she amended, “when you share that with me…I just want it to be everything you hoped it would. I don’t want you to have any regrets.”_  
  
_“What about what you want?” Blair felt herself melting into Serena’s body as warm hands rubbed wide circles on her back._  
  
_“I just want to love you.” The sincerity of the simple statement left Blair speechless. She snuggled closer and tried to memorize the feel of Serena’s face with her fingertips._  
  
_Serena sighed, her voice still tinged with exhaustion. “I love your touch, B.”_  
  
_Blair drew her fingertips down Serena’s throat before coming to rest on bare shoulders. She felt the motion of Serena’s hands on her back begin to slow. “Are you falling asleep?”_  
  
_“Yeah and I can’t. I need to get back to the hospital and check on Eric.” But she didn’t move. The stroke of Blair’s fingers over her shoulder and down her arm was hypnotic and she couldn’t muster the will to break the contact._  
  
_“Will Lily send him back to the Ostroff Center?”_  
  
_“No. Not until she finds out how he got hurt.” She thought of how much Eric wanted to be home and that he’d most likely get his wish. “I just hope she doesn’t make him go back once the investigation is done and he’s healed.” Serena rubbed a hand over her face and tried to find some energy._  
  
_As much as she wanted to, she couldn’t continue to hold Blair and go back to sleep; she felt guilty that she was even thinking about it when her brother lay bruised in a hospital bed. She kissed Blair’s temple and rolled away from the young woman that gave her sanctuary in the face of her brother’s injury and her emotional breakdown as she cried pent up tears in the shower._  
  
_Blair rose up on her elbow and watched as Serena’s towel clad body moved across the room. She selfishly wanted Serena to come back to bed…to cuddle, to sleep…she didn’t care as long as they were together. She heard the water running in the bathroom and she knew that moment was over for the day._  
  
_It was a little scary how quickly the ache appeared once Serena was out of touching distance. She fell back against the bed and took a long, deep breath. Eric. She knew that’s where her mind needed to be. But with her body newly awake, thoughts having less to do with Eric and everything to do with his sister pushed into Blair’s mind, demanding attention._  
  
_“So she’ll bring him back here?”_  
  
_Serena appeared in doorway, toothbrush tucked in the side of her mouth. “Yeah, I guess.”_  
  
_“I think you should stay with me at the penthouse.”_  
  
_“Our mothers wouldn’t go agree to that. Would they?”_  
  
_“It makes sense. The van der Woodsen suite will be short one bed and casa de Waldorf has an open guest room.”_  
  
_Serena gave Blair a fake wounded look. “You’re going to banish me to the guest room?”_  
  
_“No, but that’s what we’re going to tell your mother.”_  
  
Lily looked pointedly at her children. “Eric, until you’re healed, you’ll be staying with me in the suite. And Serena, I’ve already secured a single for you. It’s on another floor which doesn’t please me, but it will have to do for now. Is everyone clear about the sleeping arrangements?”  
  
Serena shot a quick smile at Eric and answered her mother in the affirmative before turning to her girlfriend; Blair was fighting very hard to keep a cat that ate the canary smile off her face. It wasn’t what they had hoped for. It was better.

 

************************

 

“I can’t believe the hotel is letting you use the kitchen.” Blair was perched on a stool and watched Serena chopping vegetables with quick precision.  
  
“Well, you know first hand how very persuasive I can be when I want something” At Blair’s raised eyebrow, she quickly continued, “I’m kidding, B.” She popped a slice of zucchini into her mouth.  
  
“The sous chef’s kid has a thing for my brother. She thinks talking her dad into letting me use the auxiliary kitchen will somehow score points with Eric.” She pulled a corkscrew from a drawer, “I don’t really care about the reason, I’m just glad I have another chance to do this since our plans didn’t work out last weekend.”  
  
“Well then, remind me to thank Eric for being utterly adorable and irresistible like his big sister.” Blair stole a kiss when Serena handed her a glass of white wine.  
  
“You may want to wait until you’ve tried my dish before you go thanking anyone. You may hate it.”  
  
With her focus on the sauté pan Serena didn’t see the appreciative once over Blair gave her body. “Can I do anything to help?” Blair watched as Serena turned back to the chopping board.  
  
The thin layer of vegetable stock began to bubble in the pan. “Hand me an apron off that shelf.”  
  
“What is it with you and aprons?” Blair baited her as she reached above her head to the shelf Serena had indicated.  
  
Serena turned just as Blair’s body was fully extended, a small patch of smooth skin visible where her shirt had risen up. Her smart ass reply died on her lips and she had to close her eyes against the sight of her gorgeous girlfriend and her bare midriff.  
  
She jumped when she felt Blair drape the apron around her neck. Serena opened her eyes as Blair brought the apron strings from the back and tied them together around her waist.  
  
“I think you’re developing a fetish, S.” She stroked the flat stomach until she heard Serena draw in a shaky breath.  
  
Serena set the knife down on the cutting board. “As good as that feels, you have to stop touching me like that before I get distracted and cut off a finger.”  
  
When she turned and saw Blair looking at her with a seductive challenge in her eyes, Serena decided two could play her game. She wiped her hands on the apron and very deliberately drew her fingertips down Blair’s throat. “And trust me,” she brought her hands down farther and lightly brushed the sides of Blair’s breasts. “You’re really going to want me to have all ten available.”  
  
Blair shuddered as she raised her mouth to Serena’s. Neither was tentative as their bodies and mouths came together in a hungry kiss. Blair thought absently that anyone could walk in on them, then Serena’s tongue filled her mouth and she quickly decided she didn’t care.  
  
Serena was the first to pull away, heart hammering in her chest and lips feeling bruised from the crush of Blair’s mouth on her own. Blair’s fingers were still in her hair, her lips sliding against Serena’s skin just below her ear.  
  
“I thought you were hungry.” Serena forced out between clenched teeth.  
  
“I’m starving.” Blair’s inexperienced but naturally talented hands had dropped lower and were cupping her breasts through the apron.  
  
“B…” Serena could only whimper as thumbs stroked close but not close enough to her aching nipples.  
  
“Can we forget about dinner?” Blair asked between frantic kisses. “I can’t think of anything but what you’re hands are going to feel like on me.”  
  
Serena’s restraint snapped. She turned and pinned Blair against the counter. She grasped Blair’s wrists and pushed her hands against the edge of countertop. Serena’s hands dropped to the top of Blair’s slacks.  
  
Brown eyes tracked the motion of long slender fingers as Serena drew the back of her hands up Blair’s body. Her stomach clenched at the repetitive motion. She could feel how warm Serena’s hands were through the thin fabric of her top. Blair held her breath as Serena’s fingertips disappeared beneath the hem of her shirt.  
  
A loud crash and a series of obscenities coming from the main kitchen startled them and broke through the haze of desire that threatened to sweep them away.  
  
Blair fought to wrestle down the sexual energy raging through her body as Serena stepped away from her on unsteady legs. Her hands shook as she picked up her glass of wine.  
  
“B, I’m-”  
  
“Don’t you dare apologize to me.” Serena’s eyes snapped up at the admonishment. “I mean it Serena. All week long…every time we’ve gotten…” _hot and heavy_ ran through her mind, “you’ve backed off and been apologetic afterwards.”  
  
“Blair.”  
  
“I’m in this with you, S. I’m a virgin, not some fragile porcelain doll. I know what my heart needs and what my body wants.” She took a deep breath and Blair laid her hand on top of Serena’s. “Do you want me?”  
  
Serena laced her fingers through Blair’s. “More than I’ve let you know.”  
  
Blair moved into Serena’s arms. “Do you love me?”  
  
“You know I do.”  
  
“Tell me why you keep backing off.”  
  
Serena felt the tears fill her eyes and slid out Blair’s embrace. “I think dinner can wait.” She busied herself putting away the vegetables and dumping the contents of the sauté pan down the drain.  
  
“Tell me why, Serena.”  
  
The pan clattered into the stainless steel sink. Serena looked at Blair over her shoulder. “Because I’m scared, B. Because you can break my heart so easily now.” She looked away until the patient, gentle caress of Blair’s hand against her face gave her the courage to voice her deepest wish, “Because I want you to be in love with me, too.”  
  
“S,” Blair whispered the endearment against Serena’s cheek, “I am.” Blair tightened her arms around Serena’s neck and moved her lips to Serena’s ear and whispered again, “I am.” She let her hand slip down and come to a rest over Serena’s heart. “Please look at me.”  
  
She waited until Serena could meet and hold her gaze. “I’m sorry I haven’t made it clear before now.” Blair smiled, her heart swelling with emotion as she watched Serena absorb what she was saying. “I am very much in love with you. I think I’ve loved you all along and just didn’t understand what it was.”  
  
“You don’t know how happy you just made me.” Serena lowered her mouth to Blair’s and kissed her softly.  
  
“Then show me. We’ve waited long enough.”  
  
“You’re sure?” Serena watched Blair’s nimble fingers untie the apron.  Serena slipped it over her head and tossed it on the counter.  
  
“Yes, it’s time...take me to bed, S.”

 

TBC


	4. Touch of Heaven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> NSFW - Our girls finally get the alone time they've been longing for.

Serena fumbled with the key card before sliding it into the locking mechanism and stepped aside to let Blair enter the suite first. She’d held Blair’s hand since leaving the auxiliary kitchen, their fingers still loosely laced together as they stepped into the darkened suite. Blair pressed a kiss against her shoulder as Serena secured the locks on the door and adjusted the dimmer to bathe the room in low light.  
  
She tugged Blair to a stop as they approached the threshold of the bedroom. A sheepish grin formed on her face. “Can you give me a minute? I honestly can’t remember what shape my room is in.”  
  
Blair pressed her body against Serena’s. “It doesn’t matter.” She slid her fingers along the nape of Serena’s neck and coaxed her into a slow, easy kiss, which Serena broke away from much too soon in Blair’s opinion.   
  
Serena backed out of the room, her index finger raised. “Just one minute, I promise.”   
  
Blair perched on the arm of an oversize chair. She could see the shadow Serena cast as she moved through the room and it took everything she had to honor Serena’s request and stay in the sitting area.  
  
A jolt of nervous energy forced Blair to her feet. She stepped out of her shoes and walked over to the window to look out at the street below. Forty-nine floors up, the lights of the city danced before her eyes but she couldn’t really see any of them. All she knew was her own heartbeat and the sweep of Serena’s eyes roaming her body like a caress as she came back into the room.  
  
Serena leaned against the wall and the loveliness of the vision that was Blair standing in moonlight etched itself in her memory. Her long brown hair was pulled up, off her neck, giving her a regal profile. A sharp contrast to how relaxed Blair looked in her very casual dress. The form fitting short sleeve shirt was hugging her body and Serena had to drag her eyes away from how nicely Blair's slacks clung to her curves. She felt Blair’s eyes drift her way and knew she had been caught looking.  
  
“Hi.” Blair’s shy, soft voice floated in the air.  
  
Serena crossed the room and stood behind her. She bent her head and whispered, “How’d I get so lucky?” Long arms snaked around Blair’s waist and drew the soft body back to rest against her chest.   
  
Blair relaxed against Serena’s body when warm lips began a gentle exploration of her neck. “I think we both did.”  
  
Serena heard the wonder in Blair’s voice and asked quietly, “Come with me?”   
  
Blair took Serena’s hands and followed Serena as she walked backward through the moonbeams on the carpet. “Close your eyes, B.” Serena glanced over her shoulder and maneuvered them into the room. Blair’s hand in hers, she gave her preparations one last look and took a deep breath. “You can open them, now.”  
  
Blair’s eyes fluttered open and took in the romantic mood her girlfriend had set. Red, yellow and white rose petals were sprinkled in a path to the bed, with more scattered on the sheets; candles large and small burned strategically throughout the room. She turned bright eyes glittering with unshed tears toward her girlfriend.  
  
“S…”  
  
“I know you said...but I thought…if there was some small part of you that still wanted this…” She pressed a kiss against Blair’s temple.  
  
Blair leaned into Serena’s body. She had been honest when she told Serena she no longer had a specific fantasy, had given it up when she realized her ex could never pull it off. As she came face to face with pieces of it and the solid feel of the woman that created it from a long ago conversation, Blair was amazed to realize how much it truly meant to her.  
  
“This is why you’ve had fresh roses delivered every day.” It was a quiet revelation.  
  
Serena nodded. “There’s one more thing.” She pressed play on her iPod and turned semi-mischievous eyes to Blair as the opening strains of an old NSYNC ballad filled the room.   
  
The laugh was out before Blair could even think to hold it back. “Oh, my God! I can’t believe I once thought this was the most romantic song ever written.”  
  
Serena chuckled and pulled Blair more snuggly against her side. “You were twelve. You didn’t know any better.” Serena thumbed her iPod and selected a specific playlist of songs that made her think of Blair.   
  
She wrapped her arms around Blair’s waist as Annie Lennox’s “Wonderful” filled the room. “Can I have this dance?”   
  
Blair tucked her head against Serena’s shoulder and let her lead them in an easy rhythm in the open space between the bed and the windows. “I can’t believe you did this for me.” She felt Serena’s hands moving in a gentle massage against her back, pulling her even closer against Serena’s long body. Blair thought she heard Serena murmur _for us_ when warm breath tickled her lips as she lifted her face to accept Serena’s kiss.   
  
“I love you.”  
  
“I love you, too.”  
  
Lips and hands that had not been hesitant for several days, moved shyly at first. _Go slow._ Serena edged the pads of her thumbs along Blair’s jaw line. _Go slow._ Warm lips enveloped Serena’s earlobe and sucked tenderly. _Go slow._ Serena gently released long brown hair from a golden clasp, the long locks falling over her hands like silk. _Go slow._ Blair met the soft stroke of Serena’s tongue. Touch…retreat. _Go slow._  
  
Her face cradled in Serena’s hands, Blair surrendered to the gradually deepening kiss. The sensation of full lips sliding against her own bowed her body and Blair pressed closer. Serena’s thigh slipped between Blair’s and she gasped.  
  
“I’ll lose my mind if we get interrupted tonight.” Blair panted as she tilted her face toward the heavens. She could feel the smoldering flame of desire licking at the base of her spine as Serena lips and tongue forged a hot, wet path down one side of Blair’s throat and up the other. Each kiss, every nibble brought bodies straining against one another even closer.  
  
Serena clasped the hands that were pushing the hair away from her temples. Her eyes never left Blair’s face as she brought their joined hands to the buttons on her shirt. “Shh. Don’t even think it. Tonight is ours.”  
  
Blair’s hands lay on top of Serena’s and the blonde worked one button lose, then another. Serena’s hands fell away after Blair’s whispered, “Can I?”  
  
Serena had to concentrate on the very basic concepts of inhaling and exhaling as warm breath fluttered across her collarbone and bare knuckles skimmed down the center of her body as each button was released and her top separated. The room was warm, but the air felt cool to Serena’s overheated body.  
  
Blair felt her vision swim. Her best friend and about-to-be lover stood before her, hair mussed, lips bruised from kissing, and trembling with her shirt hanging open on her lean body. It was the sexiest thing she had ever seen in her young life. Blair fisted the open shirt in her hands and pulled Serena into a searing kiss.   
  
It was the combination of the forceful sweep of Blair’s tongue demanding entry and the hands cupping her breasts that erased the last thought from Serena’s mind, pushed aside as very primal instincts took over.  
  
Her lips never leaving Blair’s, Serena pulled the shirt off of her body. She drew in a breath on a hiss as Blair’s nails raked from her collarbone, across her breasts and down her abdomen. Serena’s hands roamed the body clinging to hers and found hard nipples straining through the thin shirt, begging for attention.   
  
The whimper that escaped from Blair when Serena broke the kiss turned to a moan as Serena’s hands slipped beneath her shirt and warm palms grazed the silk of her bra. Blair felt the shirt rising and lifted her arms above her head to hasten its removal. Warm lips descended upon Blair’s shoulder and moved down her chest as fingertips brushed back and forth against her nipples for the first time. Blair wasn’t prepared to feel an echoing tightness between her legs, a sensation that took her breath away.  
  
Serena felt the bed against the back of her legs and sat on the firm surface. She stretched out her legs and with a gentle press against the small of her back brought Blair forward to stand in the vee of her legs. She pressed her lips against the quivering stomach and whispered between kisses, “Blair…breathe.” Once Serena felt a rush of warm air swirl around her shoulders the nearness of Blair’s navel proved too tempting to ignore.   
  
Blair’s stomach clenched again as Serena kissed higher, rising from the bed, her hands moving in a parallel path up Blair’s back. She arched into the contact when Serena’s lips skimmed over the silk covering her breasts. “S...that feels…oh.”  
  
Serena pulled back, her breathing uneven and brushed the hair out of Blair’s face. “I want you so much.” She searched Blair’s face for any signs of hesitation as she moved her hands to Blair’s shoulders and edged one bra strap down, then the other. Serena felt her hands shaking against Blair’s back as she unfastened hooks and eased the material away. Unwilling to let Blair feel vulnerable even for a moment, she quickly unhooked her own bra and let it fall to the floor.  
  
“Blair.” Serena gently caught her hands as Blair lifted them in an effort to cover her breasts. “Please …let me see you.” Blair’s skin glowed in the candlelight, small muscles barely visible as they contracted in her abdomen. Then her eyes were drawn to pale pink nipples, tight tips on her breasts. “B…you’re so beautiful.” She held Blair’s hands loosely as she brought them up to her lips. She pressed a kiss to each palm and smiled as Blair wound her arms around her neck.   
  
Blair’s head was reeling. Her senses overloaded as she felt the naked press of breasts against her own for the first time. She forced open eyes that had closed at the contact. Blair felt as if she were outside her body watching her own fingers stroke over full, firm breasts to tease Serena’s nipples to hard points.   
  
Serena’s answering touch brought her back. She was aching, Serena’s hands were on her breasts, her lips moving against her neck; Blair was consumed in pleasure and…still wanting. Then Serena’s mouth was moving down her chest and she felt Serena exhale, warm air swirling around her nipple an instant before Serena’s lips surrounded it. She ground her hips into Serena in pure reflex, an instinctive need to get closer.   
  
Serena felt her control slipping. She couldn’t still her own hands as they wandered from skin to soft material and back again. She knew that she was impossibly wet and getting wetter as Blair moved against her. Blair’s hands on her body sparked sensations that jumped along nerve endings that couldn’t possibly be connected. She lifted her head away from Blair’s breast, her fingertips trailing a path from the hollow of her throat to the edge of her pants that her lips traveled seconds later.  
  
“Serena…I need…” Blair swallowed hard, unable to articulate that the throb between her legs was nearly unbearable.  
  
Green eyes dark with emotion met hers as Serena’s fingers splayed wide against the material covering Blair’s thighs. Her thumbs rubbed up and down on either side of the zipper, pressing just firmly enough that Blair could feel it.  
  
“You need me to touch you,” her hand slid between Blair’s legs and squeezed gently, “here?”  
  
Blair nearly came apart. “God, yes.”  
  
Shaking with her own need Serena peeled her jeans and panties off in one swift motion and sat on the edge of the bed. She slid her fingers through belt loops and tugged Blair closer. The button gave way easily and long fingers grasped the tongue of the zipper and pulled slowly. Blair kicked the slacks free and swayed in the circle of Serena’s arms around her waist.   
  
Serena’s hands circled back to the front and stopped short of removing the final material barrier between their bodies. She looked up at Blair. “Promise you’ll say something if I do something you don’t like.” When Blair whispered “okay”, she pulled silk panties down firm thighs and past strong calves.  
  
Blair watched Serena as she moved to the center of the bed and stretched out. They had seen each other naked before, but Blair had never let her gaze linger on the beautiful body that now beckoned her hands and mouth to touch. She went willingly when Serena drew her onto the bed and on top of her long, lean form.  
  
Skin to skin at last, their legs tangled together, and hands moved fast then slow over hips and thighs, touching newly exposed skin.  
  
“You feel so good.”  
  
“So do you.”  
  
Serena pressed her hand between their bodies and let her fingers dance against tight wet curls. Blair’s head snapped up from Serena’s chest and looked at her with such a heady combination of innocent amazement and desire it stole Serena’s breath and stilled her fingers. She felt Blair tense and waited for her to relax into her touch. Only then did slender fingers travel in long strokes through wet heat.  
  
Blair’s body was paralyzed by the pleasure of Serena’s touch until fingers crept higher, moving in slow, tight circles causing Blair to buck against her hand. One hand on the mattress, the other on Serena’s shoulder, Blair braced herself as her hips rocked faster on the talented fingers alternating between lazy strokes that spread her wide and precision circles that made her want to clamp down.   
  
Serena was barely holding on. The sight of Blair poised over her body, head thrown back and moving more frantically against her hand had her hovering near her own climax. The varying pressure of Blair’s thigh between her legs was increasing the ache. She rolled Blair onto her back and brought her lips back to her breast. Serena licked the areola before taking the hard nipple into her mouth and teasing it with her tongue.   
  
Blair dug her heels into the bed and arched in a quick motion to press more firmly against Serena’s hand. “Inside.” A plea made between clenched teeth. She felt her lover hesitate and whispered, “You won’t hurt me.”  
  
Green eyes lifted and held her gaze. She felt Serena’s touch travel lower before gently slipping inside.   
  
“Am I-”   
  
“No…touch me.” She felt full and then tight as Serena’s fingers began to move slowly inside her. Strokes that started short, lengthened and deepened as they found their rhythm. They were covered in a light sheen of sweat as they moved, arousal building and thundering through their intertwined bodies.   
  
Blair felt the slick evidence of Serena’s need against her thigh and pressed her hand between their bodies. Serena groaned against her breast as Blair’s fingers swept between her legs. “Show me. I need to touch you, too.”  
  
Serena withdrew her fingers and brought them up in one long stroke. Blair mirrored the action and Serena struggled to breathe. “B, waitwaitwaitwait. I’ll co…” She swallowed hard, “I’m already too close.”   
  
Blair heard the panic and stilled her hand but didn’t move it away as Serena fingers moved faster, bringing her to breaking point. Blair felt everything coalesce, like she was being turned inside out, her head and body rising off the bed.   
  
“S…” She opened wild eyes and tried to focus on Serena’s face so close to her own. Then Blair’s head slammed back against the pillow as the mounting tension in her body suddenly broke under the ceaseless assault of Serena’s fingers. It lingered forever and was over too soon.   
  
They lay collapsed against one another for long moments afterward, breathing each other in. Serena rolled to her side, the motion causing Blair’s fingers to shift between her legs. She couldn’t stop the whimper from escaping as she felt Blair press against her insistently. Blair mimicked how Serena had touched her just minutes earlier. “Is this okay?”  
  
“Yeah…won’t take mu-” Her words were cut off by Blair’s kiss, her tongue running along Serena’s lower lip before staking claim to her mouth. It felt like it was only seconds and a few strokes later that Serena was calling Blair’s name, hips pumping frenetically as her orgasm washed over her.  
  
Serena rolled onto her back, hands over her eyes. “God, I feel like such a guy.”  
  
Blair perched her head in her hand and looked at the naked body beside her own. She ran her hand over Serena’s breasts. “Trust me, S. You are all woman.”  
  
Groaning in embarrassment, she turned to Blair. “You know what I mean.”  
  
“Look at me, Serena. Do I look like I am disappointed?”  
  
Serena shook her head. Blair looked absolutely sated.  
  
“Besides,” she moved to straddle Serena’s waist. “We’ve got all night and we’ve barely gotten started.”

 

************************

 

 The suite was silent save for the rustle of a sheet wrapping around a slender nude form. Bare feet padded to an oversize chair, then tucked neatly beneath Blair’s body as she curled into the seat. A faint green light brought her eyes to the alarm clock on the dresser. According to the large block shaped numbers it was 3:23 am. Blair realized with a start that it was the first time in hours, _hours_ , that she had not been touching Serena in some way. They had not been able to stop touching each other even when sleep had finally claimed them both.  
  
She had fallen asleep wrapped around Serena and woke up the same way. It was only after her hand had drifted beneath the sheet and her fingers danced through a wetness that lingered between her lover’s legs that she forced herself from the bed.  
  
Blair hated feeling out of control and being unable to resist the lure of Serena’s body even as she slept definitely qualified in Blair’s mind. She crammed her hands under her legs. _I am Blair Waldorf, not some…horny teenager._ Now that Blair was awake and Serena was…a soft sigh caught her attention and her eyes were drawn back to her lover where she slept, sprawled in the middle of the bed only partially covered by the bedding.   
  
One long leg was bared to her hip and Blair’s fingers literally twitched wanting to touch that spot where hip met leg that was softer than soft. She wondered how it would feel under her lips. Blair wasn’t prepared for how much the act of touching made her want to touch even more. To revisit those places on Serena’s body that elicited sounds that made Blair herself ache. _Damn._ She was desperately aroused and wanted nothing more than to wake Serena and have her way with her.  
  
She repeated the refrain in her mind. _I am Blair Waldorf, not a horny teenager._  
  
She was even more unprepared for her own body’s reaction to being with Serena. Blair didn’t expect her calves and hamstrings to ache from exertion. That wasn’t something that was talked about in sex education classes or among her peers.  
  
And Blair couldn’t fathom how she could be satisfied, completely and utterly, and still need Serena’s hands on her. If it didn’t feel so damn good, Blair would be embarrassed that she couldn’t stop rubbing up against Serena seeking friction like a sleek cat against a scratching post.  
  
Her steepled fingers came to rest against her lips, and the lingering scent that was pure Serena made her mouth go dry while other parts of her did the exact opposite. The sheet around Blair’s body shifted and her overly sensitized skin registered it in a way she never would have noticed before Serena became her lover. Blair smiled widely at that. She had a lover. Dear God, did she have a lover.   
_  
“S…”  
  
“Hmmm?” Serena murmured against the nipple her tongue was circling before idly pressing her lips against other parts of Blair’s anatomy.  
  
“S…” Blair was lost in a haze of pleasure. Serena’s hands and mouth were roaming her body in a sensual pattern, not letting her come down fully from the climax that had her arching off the bed and clinging to Serena until the last ripple had streaked down her spine just a moment before.  
  
“I can’t get enough of you.” Long fingers stole between Blair’s legs again.  
  
“I don’t think I can,” was uttered in vain as Blair’s body seemed to have a mind of its own as her legs opened and she responded to Serena’s touch.   
  
Serena eased herself down Blair’s body and felt tight wet curls brush against her belly, then her breasts as Blair moved against her and Serena couldn’t hold back any longer. She pressed her lips high on Blair’s inner thigh. “Please say I can put my mouth on you.”  
  
Blair felt Serena’s breath burn hot against her skin and gazed down the length of her own body. The sight of her lover stretched out between her thighs with a hungry look in her eyes had Blair shaking and her voice stuck in her throat.  
  
Serena licked a little higher, a little closer and her eyes slammed shut as the scent of Blair’s arousal beckoned to her. She thought she would implode from wanting if Blair refused them this level of intimacy.  
  
“Blair…baby?” her voice was strangled to her own ears as she locked eyes with her lover. “Ple-”   
  
“Yes.” With one word, everything Blair had learned about pleasure in the previous hours was dwarfed when she felt Serena’s tongue run the length of her center.  
  
“Oh, God.”  
  
Serena tried to go slow, but the sensation was too new for both of them. She was feasting, her lips and tongue moving frantically as Blair ground hard against her mouth. They were straining against one another, Serena’s shoulders driving against Blair’s legs, moving faster and pressing harder until she felt Blair’s orgasm shatter through her body.  
  
Blair was panting as she pawed weakly at Serena’s hair. “I…you.” Serena’s tongue was still moving against her, slowly and with a light touch and it made it very hard for Blair to think, or uncurl her toes.  
  
“Let me have you again.” Serena slowed her pace by pausing between strokes, trying to let Blair recover, but unable to stop entirely. “We’ll go slow…slow as you need.” _  
  
The cover slipped off of Serena as she turned onto her stomach and drew Blair back to the present. Her eyes drifted down Serena’s back and came to a rest on her lover’s smooth, firm ass. Her mouth dry, hands shaking with renewed need and wetness creeping down her thighs, Blair conceded defeat to her personal test of willpower and eased out of the chair.   
  
She stopped just short of the bed and let the sheet slide from her frame and pool around her feet. Blair jumped when Serena’s arm reached out and brushed against her leg.  
  
“I miss you, B. Come back to bed.”  
  
Blair smiled at the sleepy note in Serena’s voice as she climbed onto the foot of the bed. She ran her hands up Serena’s legs, over her bottom and up her back. Blair’s breasts followed the same path, her nipples tightening as they followed the curve of Serena’s calf and then the curve of her ass. She held back a moan as she straddled Serena’s hips and pressed her breasts against Serena’s back.  
  
Serena groaned at the contact, her body waking much more quickly than her mind. “Ahhh, B…” she blew out a breath, “you feel so good.”  
  
Blair didn’t know who moved first, if she pressed down or if Serena’s hips canted up. And it really didn’t matter as they discovered a friction creating rhythm that had them both breathing hard.   
  
Serena felt Blair shift and what had been a hint of her lover’s arousal was fully revealed against her skin as Blair rocked against her ass. Soft hands slid against her sides and Serena could feel them subtly urging her body away from the bed. She glanced over her shoulder. Blair’s eyes were closed and her face flushed.  
  
Her head fell forward into the pillow when she felt Blair’s fingers slip between Serena’s body and the bed. She raised her hips as much as she could with Blair pressing against her back. “Let me roll over,” she begged.  
  
“Uh-uh.” But she shifted her weight, giving Serena a little more freedom to move and herself a little easier access to the wetness she knew was going to find.  
  
Serena was a little frustrated and a lot turned on by the glancing strokes of Blair’s fingers high between her legs. An image of herself on her knees, Blair taking her aggressively came unbidden into her mind making her throb painfully.   
  
She ground harder against Blair’s hand, trying and failing to make the connection she urgently needed. Serena’s hips were jerking almost violently, the sheet balled in her fist. “B…please. Higher…yeah, that’s it. Don’t stop…so close, B…so close.” It was Blair’s unexpected and whispered _come for me_ that pushed her over the edge. Her lover’s name fell repeatedly from Serena’s lips as the orgasm washed over her and left her gasping for air.   
  
Blair pressed kisses between Serena’s shoulder blades and then lay beside her as the blonde’s breathing evened out. She pushed the hair away from Serena’s face and was greeted by a wide smile.  
  
“You amaze me, B.” Serena rolled to her side and pulled Blair close. One kiss became a second, then a third and then they lost count as they began to move together again.  
  
***************   
  
“S, are you sure this is okay?” She felt long arms tighten around her middle and her head fell back against Serena’s shoulder.  
  
“I can’t think of anything I’d rather be doing or anywhere I’d rather be.” Serena shifted against the bench and tucked the blanket a little more securely around them. She pressed a kiss against Blair’s cheek.  
  
“You don’t think it’s…obscenely sappy, coming back here?”  
  
“I think it’s romantic.”  
  
They sat together, drinking coffee as they watched the sun rise over the park. Blair’s eyes were drawn to the spot where they stood in the rain less than a month ago. It still amazed her how one conversation and one kiss changed her life so much. She snuggled closer to her lover.   
  
“Love you, S”  
  
“I love you, too, Blair.”  
  
  
FIN

**Author's Note:**

> Originally published on my Live Journal account in 2008.


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